Lammas

[meridian_rose]

That photo is one I took the other day when we had sun rather than rainstorms, of my annual grain "crop". I replant an ear every year. This year the weather and my slightly late planting of the ear means the grain hasn't turned golden yet in time for Lammas.


Lammas occurs on the first or second of August. It is also celebrated as Lughnasadh. It is believed that Lammas comes from the Saxon phrase hlaf maesse, or "loaf mass."

Lammas is primarily a wheat harvest. It is a cross quarter day, falling between the midsummer solstice of Litha and the autumnal equinox of Mabon.

For those in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the time of Imbolc, a spring festival associated with the goddess Brigid.

Lughnassadh means “the commemoration of Lugh” and appears in variant spellings across the Celtic languages. The Lughnasadh festival is sometimes said to have been begun by the god Lugh, Lord of all the Arts, as a funeral feast and games commemorating his foster-mother, Tailtiu.

You can read more at my previous Lammas post which includes more about symbolism, celebration, and links to further reading.
And last year I posted original fic, Ficlet: Harvest Celebration inspired by some prompts at from one_sentence_only (Table 25b), a summer themed ficlet for Lammas/Lughnasagh/Lunasdagh, as a priestess prepares to lead the ritual for the harvest celebration.
As this is a festival related to Lugh, I'll also mention my Fiction: All the Arts post from December last year, a modern au featuring the Lord of All the Arts.