|
Lammas is a Wiccan holiday that occurs from July 31-August 1. Also called Lughnasadh, Lammas celebrates the first harvest of the year. It is also a recognition that the summer days will soon come to a close. At this time of year the spring plants return to dormant to ensure future crops.
Fruits such as apples are ripe now for the picking. The first sheaves of grain are cut on August 1 traditionally, and in Greek legend the grain god was Adonis. The first loaves of bread of the season are always honored on Lammas. Grain has often been celebrated in ancient cultures and is even associated with the cycle of death and rebirth.
Wiccans give thanks and show gratitude for the harvest gifts they work to recieve. They also celebrate to give thanks for the food on their tables. Pagans celebrate this time of year by sharing a feast with their immediate family or members of the Wiccan Coven to which they belong. The celebration is similar in nature to a holiday such as Thanksgiving but in the case of Lammas what is being celebrated is the harvest and the gods. Wiccans save the plant seeds from the fruits consumed at the feast and plant them as a Lammas ritual.
The special aspect of Lamma is that it celebrates a partnership that exists between humans and the divine. Some call Lammas the forgotten Wiccan Sabbat. With industrialized food, people buy everything prepackaged and prepared at the supermarket. Wiccans stop to realize on Lammas that the farmers harvests are crucial to well being. This is why Wiccans often plant their own fruit, vegetable and herb gardens. They want to thank the gods for the foods that we harvest and eat.
In some Pagan traditions, Lammas is also a day of honoring Lugh, the celtic craftsman god of many skills. This is why at Lammas time many Wiccans have craft festivals where they can peddle their organic grown foods, home made items, music and wares. Recognition of the celtic god Lugh is why so many modern Renaissance Festivals being at this time of year.
