Greetings folks, hope you are all well.
I will be presenting the basic meanings of the yearly festivals we employ in Druidry, Wicca and Paganism over the coming year and there seems no better time than the now...especially as I have just completed a ritual for Lughnasadh a few minutes ago.
Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-nus-uh) is celebrated on or around August the 1st in the Northern hemisphere and 1st February in the Southern hemisphere. In Gaelic it can refer to the whole month of August and also be termed 'Lammas'. The reason for this is that the celebration is a harvest festival that sees the populace reap the corn from the fields and create a bounty for the harsh winter months ahead, amassing grain into loaf so we get the derivative: Loaf-mass.
The festival is known to be a fire festival born of the God of Light 'Lugh' and henceforth many practices across Pagan, Wiccan and Druidic sects involve the ingestion of corn one has cut, the burning of effigies made from the corn stems and even the corn wheels that we still see to this day, burning down Irish, English, Welsh, Scottish and international slopes in France and Holland. This was in honour to Lugh (Llew in Welsh) who is depicted as wrestling the knowledge of agriculture from his predecessors. This birthed the story of Lancelot in Arthurian legend where the caldron of Annwn (Anwyn-Welsh) was given to Arthur by Lancelot who won it in battle from the previous tribes. (@Austin Linda for reference..the synchronicity of your mention today did not escape me )
During Lughnasadh we acknowledge the "death" of light and the bounty given in terms of food during the heights of summer but we also use this ancient knowledge taught to us by Lugh/Llew/Lancelot to make provision for the darker months ahead where light is scarce.
Happy Lughnasadh everyone!! Please feel free to ask questions and/or tell us your own views and experiences surrounding this festival.
Awen.