Historic Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh is a harvest celebration named for Lugh (Irish), Llew (Welsh), Lug (Britonic),or Lugus, the Celtic sun god. Lugh was one of the most popular of the Celtic gods. He gave his name to many towns around Europe including Lugdunum (Lyons) and perhaps even Londinium (London).

Lughnasadh is known to non-Celts as Lammas and is celebrated on August 1. This is the time of corn festivals and corn dances. Lughnasadh was the first of three harvest festivals. Lughnasadh was the early harvest, often the largest and the most important followed by Mabon and then the final harvest of the year which came at Samhain.

The success of the harvests would determine the quality of life for the rest of the year. All able-bodied persons would gather to harvest the all-important corn (barley, oats and wheat rather than the yellow corn familiar to Americans) with everyone in the community working together. At the completion of the work they then would celebrate and thank the gods for the bounty of the fields.

In Europe the Corn Mother was made of the last sheaves of corn harvested; as her spirit was believed to be embodied in these sheaves of corn. The "corn dolly" would be kept safe throughout the winter and then buried in the spring with the sowing of the fields.

The decent into the darkness of winter is still weeks or even months away, but the every-present spector of famine was never far from the people's minds.

A fine celebration at Lughnasad showed that the people truely appreciated the bounty given to them by the gods. "Lammas", the common name for this seasonal celebration in modern times comes from the word for "loaf mass" which celebrates the bread made from the first grain to be harvested.


Celebrating the Harvest

In the modern world we tend to become distanced from our food. When all the food we eat comes wrapped in plastic or inside a can or freezer box, we tend to forget the effort that has gone into producing it.

Don't save your thanks for only certain times of the year. Make dining together as a family a priority. Try to share at least one meal a day. You can do a little ritual before eating. Say something like:

Thanks to the Lord for the food we eat.

Thanks to the Lady for her gifts so sweet.

Thanks to the farmer who labored long.

Thanks to the animals for their bodies strong.

Thanks to the hands that prepared our meal.

Thanks to all who turn the Wheel.

Some other ideas for celebrating Lughnasadh are:

  • Spend time in your garden. If you don't have a spot of your own land to plant and harvest, investigate the possibility of starting a community garden or visit one of the many farms which allow you to harvest your own vegetables.

  • Make a corn dolly using stalks of wheat or corn husks.

  • Start a compost heap. If your plot of land is small you can even start one in a large plastic garbage can. Poke some holes in the bottom to allow gasses to escape, fill about half full with grass clippings, vegetable parings and other biodegradeable materials, moisten well and allow to sit. Turn the contents periodically to allow air to circulate and moisten occasionally. When the materials begin to decompose you can add a handful of earthworms to speed up the process. You can also add vegetable parings from time to time. It will take several months, but you should be able to use your compost in your garden next spring.

    • To Lughnasadh Fun

    To Grandma's Cauldron

    Beltaine| Imbolc| Lugnasadh| Mabon| Mid-Summer| Ostara| Samhain| Yule|