Lammas: Celebrating The Earth's Abundance
We’ve officially hit the peak of summer and with it comes the First Harvest known as Lammas (or Lughnasadh).
The First Harvest is the product of Midsummer, when the God and Goddess joined, and is a time of celebration, gathering, and giving thanks for the abundance bestowed upon us.
Lughnasadh (pronounced LOO-nah-sah) is the Irish Gaelic name for the feast that honors the funeral games of Lugh, Celtic God of light and son of the Sun. It’s said that the Sun God transfers his power into the grain, and when the grain is harvested, he is sacrificed. He surrenders his life so that the lives of others may be prolonged. The cycle continues when the seed returns to the Earth and he is born-again.
Lammas literally means “loaf mass”, so one of the best ways to celebrate is by baking bread! If you have a family bread recipe, this is the perfect time to dust it off and gather your ingredients to make it. If you’re new to bread baking, no worries! We’ve got you covered with a recipe below.
If you’re celebrating with kids, you could pop some popcorn and work on some fun crafts with it, like making popcorn garlands to hang around tree limbs for birds and squirrels. Since Lammas is about the harvest of grain, this is a simple yet fun way to pay homage. You can also take a family trip to pick your own sunflowers, or maybe there is some leftover grain in a field that’s already been harvested. With grain, you can make a traditional Lammas Corn Dolly, or a Grain Mother. We’ll provide instructions for that below as well!
You could also try your hand at canning and preserving things from your garden. You can make jams with all fruits you grow, and you can preserve your green beans and tomatoes, so you have them later when they are no longer in season. You can even gift these to loved ones! The God and Goddess have gifted you with this bounty, after all. Why not share the wealth?
Last but certainly not least, decorate that altar! That bread you baked? Use that as your offering. The sunflowers you picked? They would adorn the altar nicely with their vibrant yellow petals. The garlands you made out of popcorn? These can also be used to decorate your altar and help add the grain element for you to give thanks for. You can use a lovely gold altar cloth (yellow, orange, and green would work as well!) and maybe a small cornucopia to finish off the decorations before adding in your standard altar tools and you’ll have made a lovely space to worship!