The harvest has come.
The Wheel of the Year keeps on turnin', and another Summer rolls away. Now we come to the harvest season. This is a season of thankfulness, but also a season of work, of preparation. We are sliding into Autumn, and there are crops to bring in, chores to still be done and a cold winter ahead for which we have to make ready.
And it begins today, the first of August, with the grain harvest, the harvest of first fruits . . . and one of Paganism's Major Sabbats.
Lammas.
Read on . . .
The Sabbat:
Lammas is the "Loaf-Mass", the grain celebration. The Welsh called it Gŵyl Awst, "Feast of August" - which may or may not have been the source of its name in the Middle Ages, the "Gule of August" (some sources point to the Old French goulet, "throat"). In any case, the start of August as the first of the harvest celebrations goes way back.
This is the time when the first grains were ready to be harvested and threshed, when the tomatoes were ripe and the grapes ready on the vine. Easy to understand, then, that our ancestors thought it called for celebration. Families came together to work side by side in the fields, then shared that harvest in a feast. Those first grains were baked into breads, and gifts of fresh loaves were commonplace.
The best way to observe Lammas, naturally, is a feast - grains, breads and the seasonal fruits of Autumn. Recipe ideas can be found here and here. Breads of any kind, of course, are great choices, and while the mead of Summer is still appropriate, Lammas is also a good time to enjoy that other fine product of grains - beer!
Remember, this is, above all, a celebration. Whatever is going on in the world (and we all know we're not as happy with it as we'd like), the harvest season is about family, friends, the shared bounty from shared labor. Winter looms ahead for us all. . . loss and want and worry. But today, the fields are full of the food we worked so hard for. Today we are all here, gathered at the table. Whatever worries prowl outside in the world, we are grateful for the here and now.
Lammas - like Beltane - was also a traditional time for handfastings - Pagan marriages lasting a year and a day. Handfastings would expire the following year at the harvest, giving a couple the choice of whether or not to renew their bond into the New Year with comes at Samhain (Oct. 31st).
And don't worry if the day caught you off guard - while Lammas is officially today, historically the date was more . . . flexible. August 6th shows up in a lot of sources, while others chose the full moon between Midsummer and the Autumn Equinox (the upcoming Grain Moon, on the 13th). Or, as my best friend said, "they held it whenever the crop came in".
The Ritual:
Like I said, the best way to celebrate Lammas is with a feast. It's perfectly acceptable to forgo any formal ritual in favor of a plain, old-fashioned meal and get-together. But if you do want to mark the day with something more elaborate, here are some ideas:
Since Lammas celebrates the grain harvest, the colors of your altar decorations, candles, and even clothing should reflect that – golds, yellows, browns. But grains aren't the only fruits of the season – there are blackberries are on the bushes, tomatoes on the vine - so reds, greens and even purples can also be appropriate colors.
Sheaves of grain are good decorations for either altars or homes during this season. Likewise, baskets of seasonal fruits (not to mention the classic cornucopia) make fitting displays. You could also try your hand at wheat-weaving.
This ancient art is a traditional practice at Lammas, and if you know how (or are willing to give it a shot), it's a great activity for celebrating the harvest, especially with the little ones. Hang the results on your walls until next year, for good luck and bounty.
Books on the craft of wheat-weaving can be found easily enough, and you might even be able to dig up some instructional videos. The very lucky ones - particularly those in agricultural areas - might even be able to find classes in their area. For the rest of you, some simple projects can be found here.
A more significant craft project was the making of "corn dollies". "Corn", in the classic sense (before the indigenous Americans gifted us with maize) referred to just about any grain. Traditionally made from the last sheaf of the harvest, corn dollies were representations of the harvest gods and goddesses. Again, check the web for instructions on making them. Often dressed in tiny clothes, corn dollies were kept through the Winter and usually thrown into the Beltane fire in May.
Lughnasadh
While the name Lughnasadh (LOO-nas-ah) is often used interchangeably with Lammas, and falls at the same time, the celebration has some differences. Lughnasadh was the Gaelic feast started by the god Lugh, a funeral feast in honor of his mother Tailtiu, who died of exhaustion after clearing the land for planting.
Like Lammas, it is a feast of thanksgiving and a celebration of the harvest. It's also a favored time for handfastings. Harvest decorations and colors are similarly appropriate.
Since Lughnasadh is one of the cross-quarter days (half-way points between a solstice and an equinox), and one of the four Fire Festivals of Celtic tradition, it's customary to celebrate Lammas with a bonfire. Makes a nice way to relax with family and friends, sitting around the fire after the big meal.
Whether you call it Lammas or Lughnasadh, formal ritual or family dinner, the grain harvest is a time of thanksgiving, celebration and the knowledge that - whatever scares, angers or disappoints us in the larger currents of the world - there is joy in the simple pleasures of sharing and enjoying what we've made together. Come what may, we can all feast together tonight.
Blessed Be.