Celtic Corner: Lughnasadh

We don't normally think of midsummer to be a time of potential famine, but to the Celts, July was known as the "hungry month", the lean time as they waited for the first fruits of the crops to start coming in. Now is a good time to start preparing for the celebration of Lughnasadh, or Lammas, on Aug. 1, where we can begin to enjoy the result of our spring planting, and begin putting food by for the winter to come.

Lammas is the midpoint between summer solstice and fall equinox. Even as the sun is losing strength, the earth is giving up her bounty. It's a celebration of first harvest and is named after the sun god, known as Lugh in Ireland, or Lunasdal in Scotland.

Lugh initiated this feast day in honor of his mother, Tailtiu, queen of the Fir Bolg, who died of exhaustion after clearing a forest so that her people could cultivate the land. (This isn't the first instance of a goddess sacrificing herself for the sake of the land and its people.) On her deathbed, she told the people that as long as they remembered her with feasting and games, Ireland would never be without song.

Traditions:

The Horse Fair - And event where horses were traded and raced. They were also purified by running them through water.

Games - Football, races, dancing, and storytelling competitions. The equivalent of the Irish Olympic games were held up until the first English invasion in the 12th century.

Brehon Marriages - Also known as handfasting, couples promised to live as husband and wife for a year and a day. If it didn't work out, at the end of that time they could say their goodbyes, no strings attached!

The Banais Rigi - The wedding feast of kingship, or rite of marriage between the king and the goddess of sovereignty, which bound the fate of the king with that of the land.

Initiations - Associated with the games, young warriors and Druids were initiated into the next rank of their orders.

Here in America, we have our own version of celebration - the county fair! So go ahead, indulge in a day of carnival games, 4-H competitions, and deep fried veggies-on-a-stick!

Activities for Lughnasadh

- Baking breads and berry pies

- Make a harvest wreath using wheat or other grains, seeds, herbs, leaves, flowers

- Preserve fruits and vegetables by canning, freezing, drying, etc.

Seasonal music: Damh the Bard sings "Lughnasadh Dance"

Movies: Dancing at Lughnasa

Sources:

Chalice Center

Summerlands

Carolan's Cauldron

My friend Nancie Baden tipped me off on this recipe for herb jelly at Renee's Garden, and I had to try it. I'm happy to say I made four jars of FABULOUS lemon balm/spearmint jelly with this easy and versatile recipe.

You can use it with virtually ANY fresh herbs you have on hand, even edible smell-goods like lavender! Try different combinations.

Herb Jelly
2 cups herb leaves
2 cups water
2 Tb. plain rice vinegar (distilled okay)
pinch salt
3-1/2 cups sugar
3 oz. (1 foil pkg.) liquid pectin