from Episode 30

Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas, is one of the eight festivals celebrated in the Wheel of the Year in some pagan and neopagan traditions. It is observed on August 1st in the Northern Hemisphere (or February 1st in the Southern Hemisphere) or, in some traditions, from sundown on August 1st to sundown on August 2nd. It marks the beginning of the harvest season. In fact, it’s the first of three harvest celebrations which also include the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, and Samhain.

The Lughnasadh festival is named after the Celtic god Lugh, who was associated with skills, craftsmanship, and the harvest. It has ancient origins and was traditionally celebrated by the Celtic people. The festival was a significant event in their agricultural calendar and was dedicated to honoring Lugh as well as thanking the deities for the bountiful harvest.

Traditions Associated with Lughnasadh/Lammas:

Harvest Celebration: Lughnasadh is primarily a festival of gratitude for the first fruits of the harvest. It is a time to celebrate the abundance of the Earth and give thanks for the crops that sustain life.
Feasting and Games: Lughnasadh is often accompanied by communal feasts, where people bake fresh loaves of bread and share the fruits of the harvest together. Games and competitions are also common during this time, echoing the ancient Tailteann Games, which were associated with the festival.
Making Corn Dolls: One traditional activity during Lughnasadh involves creating corn dolls or figures made from the first sheaf of the harvest. These dolls, representing the spirit of the grain, were often kept until the next planting season to ensure a good harvest.
Pilgrimages and Gatherings: In some traditions, people would make pilgrimages to sacred sites or hills to celebrate Lughnasadh. These gatherings often involved rituals, music, dancing, and storytelling.
Bonfires: Bonfires were another prominent feature of Lughnasadh celebrations. The fires were seen as symbols of the Sun's strength and power, and people would often leap over or walk around them as a form of purification and protection.
Crafting and Handwork: Lughnasadh is associated with skills and craftsmanship, so it is a fitting time for engaging in creative pursuits like crafting, weaving, and other forms of handwork, for example, kneeding bread.
Honoring Lugh: As the festival is named after the Celtic god Lugh, some celebrations may include rituals and offerings dedicated to him. These can vary depending on the specific tradition or personal beliefs.

It's important to note that Lughnasadh may be celebrated differently among various pagan and neopagan traditions, and the practices can vary based on cultural and regional influences. Additionally, while the origins of Lughnasadh are tied to ancient Celtic customs, the festival continues to be observed and adapted by modern practitioners of pagan and earth-based spiritual paths.

It’s also important to note that although there are ancient origins for this particular celebration – as there are with many – Lughnasadh was added, along with the other 7 festivals to what is known as the the Wheel of the Year by Gerald Gardner, who is the founder of modern Wicca.

Many practitioners celebrate all 8 sabbats while some celebrate just a few and some do not adhere to the Wheel of the Year at all, either because they are not Wiccan or do not have any connection to celebrations that are steeped in Celtic or Gaelic cultural traditions. Still, its interesting to research the specific time of year all over the world and come up with similar celebrations that took place in a time when very different peoples would have had no contact with each other in ancient times.

The Wiccan and Neopagan Lore of Lughnasadh:

In some wiccan traditions, the God is seen as the sacrificial Corn King and/or the Sun King and the Goddess is revered as the Earth Mother, during Lughnasadh:

The God- as the personification of the Sun has reached the height of his power during the summer months and now begins to wane, just like the Sun's strength begins to wane as the days grow shorter after the summer solstice. The God's energy is closely associated with the crops and the ripening grains in the fields.
During the festival, the God willingly sacrifices himself, understanding that he must die so that life can continue. This act of self-sacrifice represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth that is mirrored in nature. The God's sacrifice allows the harvest to be gathered, providing sustenance for the people and ensuring the continuation of life.
At the same time, the Goddess is celebrated as the Earth Mother at Lughnasadh. She represents the fertile land and the abundance of nature. The Goddess has nurtured the crops throughout the growing season, and now she prepares to receive the God's sacrifice, which will fertilize the Earth and ensure the next cycle of growth and renewal.
As the Earth Mother, the Goddess is the provider and sustainer, just as the Earth provides for all living beings. Her role at Lughnasadh is to receive the God's energy, which will be absorbed by the land, preparing it for the coming autumn and the eventual rebirth in the spring.

So this, in a sense, is a representation of unity or sacred union, making Lughnasadh, for some, a time to celebrate the balance between the God and Goddess as well as the interconnectedness of all living things in the grand tapestry of life. Their relationship is seen as a divine marriage, representing the harmonious interaction between the sun and earth and how they cyclical dance of life, death, and rebirth sustains the natural world.

It's important to note that that this is one interpretation of Lughnasadh in Wicca, which is a diverse and eclectic belief system with roles of Gods and Goddesses that vary among different traditions and individual practitioners.

Lughnasadh or Lammas?

Lughnasadh and Lammas are the most commonly used for this celebration but why are there two and how do they differ?? It it comes down to a difference in the origins and cultural associations of the two names.

Lughnasadh is the older of the two names and has its roots in ancient Celtic mythology and traditions. It is named after the Celtic god Lugh, who was a prominent deity associated with skills, craftsmanship, and the harvest. The festival of Lughnasadh was dedicated to honoring Lugh and giving thanks for the first fruits of the harvest.

Lammas, on the other hand, comes from Old English and is derived from the words "hlaf" (loaf) and "maesse" (mass). Lammas was originally a Christian holiday that was later incorporated into pagan and neopagan traditions. In the Christian context, Lammas was a day of thanksgiving for the first wheat harvest and was often associated with the blessing of loaves of bread made from the new grain.

As paganism and neopaganism gained popularity, many practitioners sought to reconnect with pre-Christian traditions and festivals. The similarities between the Christian Lammas and the pagan Lughnasadh were evident, both being harvest celebrations held around the same time of the year. As a result, the two festivals became somewhat blended, and the name "Lammas" started to be used interchangeably with "Lughnasadh" in some modern pagan practices.

Today, both names are commonly used to refer to the same festival, although some pagan traditions and individuals may prefer one name over the other, based on personal or cultural preferences. However, The core themes and traditions of the festival, such as gratitude for the harvest and honoring the cycles of nature, remain pretty consistent regardless of which name is used.

Common Themes for Lughnasadh/Lammas:

Gratitude, Abundance, Blessings, the necessity and inevitability of both Life and Death, Celebration, Harvest, Reflection, Introspection, Discernment, Sacrifice, Honoring the Cycles of Nature

Acts of Service: sharing food and other necessities with those in need, sprucing up neglected cemeteries, offering your time and energy to help another person ease their burdens or lighten their workload, helping out at a community garden, doing yard work for elderly neighbors, providing social opportunities for those who are lonely or isolated

Magickal Intentions:

Prosperity, Abundance, Strength, Growth, Protection, Honoring Ancestors, Making Offerings, Blessings, Communication with the Dead, Personal Transformation, Kitchen Witchery

Traditional Foods:

Apples, Corn, Bread, Squash, Barley and Grains, Nuts, Berries, Potatoes, Blackberries, Bilberries and Blueberries, Grapes, Mushrooms, Honey, Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers, Sunflowers and Sunflower Seeds, Goldenrod, Yarrow, Cinnamon, Wine, Mead and Cider

Wine: one of the staple offerings used during seasonal celebrations and carries the magickal properties of grapes, which include prosperity, divination, fertility and romance.
The earliest evidence of wine is from the Caucasus region in today's Georgia (6000 BCE), Persia (5000 BCE), Italy and Armenia (4000 BCE). New World wine has some connection to alcoholic beverages made by the indigenous peoples of the Americas, but is mainly connected to later Spanish traditions in New Spain.

Lammas Rustic Sun Bread & Sunflower Honey Butter Recipe - from Episode 30

Kitchen Witchery - from Episode 30

Lughnasadh, Lammas and the First Harvest