The begining of Harvest Home

Remember local fairs and Harvest Home festivals where the men would test their strength, the women would compete with pies and home canned goods and the children would enter their prized pigs. This was the beginning of it all. This was when the preparations for that final festival would begin. Ohh how I miss those days. Welcome to Lughnasadh, the beginning of Harvest Home.

Tomorrow is Lughnasadh or Lammas, the first of three Harvest festivals, with the other two being Mabon (or Autmnal equinox) and Samhain (Halloween).  So what do you plan on doing?

Lammas literally means 'loaf mass'. Breads were baked, feasts were tended to and thanks were given for the bounty of the harvest. In some traditions this was a festival that lasted 30 days, the 15 days before Aug. 1st. and the 15 days after. In Ireland, known as Lughnasadh, this was a day of 'gaming' and contests, first harvests as well as a fire celebration of the Sun God Lugh.

 I can honestly say it's too dang hot here to be dancing round a fire!

For today's modern pagan, this day is still held in honor as many families choose to have family reunions and gatherings. Even the Christian church uses this day as a day to bless the fields.


A simple way to celebrate this holiday is to bake some bread, cake or even muffins! Corn is a bigger deal in the U.S. then wheat so consider making some cornbread! (add cheese and jalapenos too!)

Or you can always just 'eat' some instead of baking it!

Have a meal with family and friends and keep it simple. Hot dogs, corn muffins and ice cream to cool everyone off would be a fabulous thing to do.
Don't make celebrations so 'by the book' that they are not enjoyable. This was a festival to revel in, much of the physical hard work for a long winters survival was now over. There was food from the mother to eat and save by. Our ancestors were glad of this, they cooked, baked and reveled in it. So should you!

Since it is so hot here in the south that even dancing round a fire at midnight would bring chaos to a heat flashing crone we will be celebrating with pizza, cake and ice cream at noon tomorrow! (we are combining this with my daughters 27th birthday)  Tomorrow night I do plan on baking some corn muffins and sugar pumpkins as part of my celebration meal.
Don't forget to honer the earth mother for the food she has provided, the womb in which she grew it and know that she is getting ready for a rest until next year when she will birth again food which sustains us.

HAPPY LUGHNASADH!

The Crone of Corn muffins and Pumpkin
Sage