Lammas Blessings!

   It's here and hopefully fall isn't too far behind! I love the cooler weather - bundling up in sweaters and big jackets, watching the leaves change colors and waiting excitedly for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. How will you all be celebrating Lughnasadh this year?

Happy Lammas!

   Celebrated on August 1, marking the beginning of the harvest season and the decline of Summer into Winter, Lughnasadh or Lammas takes its name from the Irish god Lugh.

   Lugh, one of the chief gods of the Tuatha De Danaan, dedicated the festical to honor his foster mother, Tailtiu, the last queen of the Fir Bolg, who died while preparing the fields for planting. Other traditions say Lammas is celebrated to honor Lugh himself.

   Festivites and rituals typically centered around the assurance of a bountiful harvest season and the celebration of the harvest cycle. This was also an occaion for handfasting. For a year and a day couples would live together in trial marriage to see if it worked out. If not the couple returned the next year to officially separate.

   Ideas for decorations include:

Sickles and scythes, as well as other symbols of harvesting

Grapes and vines

Dried grains -- sheafs of wheat, bowls of oats, etc.

Corn dolls -- you can make these easily using dried husks

Early fall vegetables, such as squashes and pumpkins

Late summer fruits, like apples, plums and peaches

Lammas Prayer

For the promise of harvest
contained within a seed
we thank you.
For the oak tree
within an acorn
The bread
within a grain
The apple
within a pip
The mystery of nature
gift wrapped
for us to sow
we thank you.

(From Faith and Worship - Prayers and Resources, but I believe it can be adapted for use in a Lammas ritual.)

   Have a great day!