The eve of July 31st through August 7th in the northern hemisphere ushers in the time of Lughnasadh, a first-harvest festival rooted in ancient Gaelic culture.
Pronounced as LOO-nuh-suh, this festival of first fruits, was noted in early Irish literature, yet is likely based on harvest ceremonies far older than written word. “Lughnasadh” means “Assembly of Lugh,” and is also the Irish name for the month of August.
In Britain, after the coming of Christianity, the first loaf of bread made from the first cutting of grain was taken to church to be blessed and this harvest holi-day was known as “Lammas” or “Loaf-mas,” the mass for the loaves.
Similar harvest celebrations have been kept in cultures all over the world, a unifying realization.
Lughnasadh is still observed in Ireland, Scotland, on the Isle of Man, and among those interested in earth-based spirituality and cyclical living.
Central to this first fruits festival, are the triple faced god/king, Lugh, who, in a spiritual sense, embodies the life cycle of the grain, from planting to harvest — and his foster-mother, the goddess/queen/earth mother, Tailtiu (pronounced as TAL-choo), who, through her work to clear and plant the land, kept her people from hunger.
This is a time to pause amidst life’s labors, to be mindful of the earth’s great bounty, to tend and harvest with care, and to savor with gratitude and rejoicing.
~ Rebekah Myers
copyright © by Rebekah Myers, 7/31/2022
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