Lughnasadh

Beannaithe Lughnasadh

(Blessed Lughnasadh) 

Lughnasadh is the Irish Gaelic name for the month of August. In Wicca and other Pagan traditions it is also the name for one of the eight Sabbats that punctuate the Wheel of the Year.  Lughnasadh is the first of three fall harvest celebrations. 

According to Irish myth, the celebration of Lughnasadh was established begun by Lugh (a solar deity) in commemoration of his foster mother, Tailtiu.  She is said to have died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland to make way for agricultural fields.  Among the practices he established were funerary games featuring athleticism, the celebration included feasting, dancing and bonfires.  

Here in sunny Southern California, August is typically the hottest month of the year so winter is far from most people’s thoughts.  But in ancient Irish and other Celtic cultures, the people only counted two long seasons of the year, summer and winter.   If one looks at the year from the perspective of two seasons, one can see how Lughnasadh might mark a transition of the seasons.  The signs of approaching change are there. During the last few weeks, since the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and height of the Sun’s power, the days have already begun to shorten. Sunset occurs a few moments earlier and Sunrise a few moments a later as each week.  The Autumnal Equinox is just a few weeks away.

If you are a gardener, you are probably enjoying lots of fresh produce from your garden right now and farmer’s markets feature fresh organic tomatoes, squash, corn, strawberries, and a variety of other produce.  In the agricultural bread-basket of the mid-west, grain crops such as wheat are ready to harvest.  Giving thanksgiving for the bounty of this season’s harvest and ensuring a bountiful harvest next year is a frequent focus of Lughnasadh celebrations.   

Another name for Lughnasadh is Lammas. After Rome invaded the British Isles, the Christian church conscripted many Pagan festivals. They established Lamas as the day in which ritual of blessing the fields were performed.  The term Lamas, derives from the Saxon “Hlaf-mass”, meaning “the feast of bread”.  

Unlike the nutritionally void, fluffy white substance that masquerades as bread on many American tables, whole grain bread is a substantial and nutritious food. Bread has long been known as the staff of life, and it is still so regarded around the world.  Many Pagans bake bread, grind wheat, and engage in crafts that feature grain such as weaving Corn Dollies out of wheat stalks.  Rituals connected with this Sabbat often feature bread or grain.
 

While both sides of my family heritage are Irish, I live and grew up in Southern California. I have  seen plenty of orchards, vineyards, and strawberry fields here, but never a wheat field.   There is common grain that grows plentifully here--corn!  Since I like to include as many local elements as possible in my celebrations, it should be no surprise that two of my three favorite Lughnasadh recipes  featured below, include corn. 

Lughnassadh  Recipes

Fiesta Corn Bread

3 cups cornmeal

1 cup milk

2 eggs

¼ cup oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

1 small can ortega diced green chilis (drain well)

1 can whole kernel (drain well) or cream corn (optional) 

Preheat oven to 375º.   Mix all ingredients except for canned corn and chilis until fairly smooth and all the big lumps are gone.  Pour batter into 8 x 8 greased pan.  Bake until done, about 60 minutes.

Harvest Casserole

1 lg. zucchini squash

1 yellow squash

2 small patty pan squash

2 tomatoes

1 onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 package whole kernel corn

1 can creamed corn

1 can diced ortega green chili

1 small red or yellow bell pepper

1 cup grated pepper jack or regular jack cheese

1 package Mrs. Cubbison’s Seasoned, Cubed Stuffing

Preheat oven to 375º.  Prepare stuffing according to directions on package.  (you will need 2 cubes of butter, a can of vegetable broth, 2 stalks celery diced,  and 1 onion, diced to prepare stuffing).

Place half the stuffing mixture in a well oiled casserole dish and set aside the remainder. Dice the bell pepper, mince the garlic, and cut squash, onion and tomatoes into large chunks.  Add whole kernel corn, canned cream corn, and canned green chilies (drain first). Pour vegetable mixture into casserole over stuffing and sprinkle with cheese.  Top with the remainder of the stuffing.   Bake until stuffing appears done, approximately 55 minutes.   

Grandma’s Bread Pudding

2 tbsp softened butter

7 thick slices french bread (banana bread or cinnamon raisin bread also work well in this recipe.)

4 cups milk

3 eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ cup raisins (dates or other dried fruit may be substituted)

½ cup chopped walnuts (almond slivers may be substituted)

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond extract

½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Use softened butter to grease a casserole dish.  Cube bread slices. Toss bread cubes together with raisins and almonds, place in casserole dish and set aside. Combine milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, almond and vanilla extract.  Whip together until smooth.  Pour mixture over the bread cubes in casserole dish.  Bake 350° at for approximately 45 minutes or until done.

 

  Of course, this sabbat concerns much more than feasting and celebration.  In early human societies, the growth and harvest of grain was often symbolically associated with the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.  Lughnasadh represents is the official decline of summer into winter. It heralds the cold and darkness to come.  But it is only the first harvest and not the end of things. Though the seasons are changing and the time to plant has come to an end, the barrenness of winter has not yet arrived. It is still early in the harvest season and there is still more of value in the field waiting to ripen and be gathered.  

 While planning my own private observance of this sabbat, I began to reflect upon how the waning energies of Lughnasadh mirror my own time in life. I have also begun the decline from summer into winter. The last decade has wrought many unwelcome changes. Like My hair and nails have become brittle. My once waist long hair is now a frizzy and unruly, grey streaked, shoulder length mop. The few wrinkles that used to appear around my eyes and the corners of my mouth when I laughed or smiled have now become permanent etchings upon my face, and the worry lines that cross my forehead do not disappear, even when I am at peace.  My time of fertility has all but come to an end with the few cycles that I do experience becoming ever harder on my body. And like the autumn sun, my strength and stamina are beginning to wane.  

When I was in my teens, I went along with a group of friends to visit a fortune teller.  Among other things, she told me that in my older years I would enjoy a personal renaissance—my arts and talents would emerge to light; I’d experience many unexpected pleasures that had previously been out of my reach; and that I would enjoy the carefree happiness that I had been denied during my youth. Though I have not yet reaped the full spectrum of her predictions, my happiness and peace have increased as I’ve grown older. So has my self acceptance. I have grown more confident and found my voice in a number of creative ways. My days are beginning to grow shorter, but my winter is not yet come.  My season of harvest has just begun, fullness and abundance lie ahead.

I hope fullness and abundant harvest lie ahead for you as well.  Have wonderful Lughnasadh celebration and reap a bountiful harvest!

Blessings and Peace,

Esmerelda