Lammas, or Lughnasadh as it is also known, is one of the eight holidays on the pagan/Wiccan wheel of the year and the first harvest festival. It falls on August 1st in the Northern Hemisphere.
Admittedly, I've never known much about this holiday but I wanted to find out more so I decided to do a little research.
According to the Wikipedia pages for Lammas, Lughnasadh, and the Wheel of the Year:
"Wiccans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread and eating it, to symbolize the sanctity and importance of the harvest. Celebrations vary, as not all Pagans are Wiccans. The Irish name Lughnasadh is used in some traditions to designate this holiday. Wiccan celebrations of this holiday are neither generally based on Celtic culture nor centered on the Celtic deity Lugh. This name seems to have been a late adoption among Wiccans. In early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is referred to as August Eve."
"The name Lammas (contraction of loaf mass) implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Christian festivals may incorporate elements from the Pagan Ritual."
"In some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass"), the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop, which began to be harvested at Lammastide. The loaf was blessed, and in Anglo-Saxon England it might be employed afterwards to work magic: a book of Anglo-Saxon charms directed that the lammas bread be broken into four bits, which were to be placed at the four corners of the barn, to protect the garnered grain."
"Lughnasadh or Lughnasa is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Originally it was held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. However, over time the celebrations shifted to the Sundays nearest this date. Lughnasadh is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals; along with Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane. It corresponds to other European harvest festivals such as the Welsh Calan Awst and the English Lammas. Lughnasadh is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and is believed to have pagan origins. The festival itself is named after the god Lugh. It involved great gatherings that included religious ceremonies, ritual athletic contests (most notably the Tailteann Games), feasting, matchmaking and trading. There were also visits to holy wells. According to folklorist Máire MacNeill, evidence shows that the religious rites included an offering of the first of the corn, a feast of the new food and of bilberries, the sacrifice of a bull and a ritual dance-play. Much of this would have taken place on top of hills and mountains."
The wikipedia page for Lammas discusses how the holiday was observed well into Christian times in parts of Europe, mainly medieval England and Scotland, and how Christian meaning was applied to the holiday whose main purpose is to simply give thanks for the first harvest of the year and to bless the crops. Lammas was even mentioned in the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet!
From paganwiccan.about.com I found more information:
"This holiday can be celebrated either as a way to honor the god Lugh, or as a celebration of the harvest."
"By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they must have had to do in order to survive. This is a good time to give thanks for the abundance we have in our lives, and to be grateful for the food on our tables. Lammas is a time of transformation, of rebirth and new beginnings."
"Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Lammas, but typically the focus is on either the early harvest aspect, or the celebration of the Celtic god Lugh. It's the season when the first grains are ready to be harvested and threshed, when the apples and grapes are ripe for the plucking, and we're grateful for the food we have on our tables." source
The site goes on to list information about other faiths celebrating the harvest at this time of year besides the Celtic faith in Lugh, such as, Sumerian and Greek myths/tales of gods and goddesses associated with grain and the harvest as well as harvest festivals. There are a great number of deities historically associated with grain, corn, and/or the harvest from many different cultures, societies, and religions worldwide. Among these are multiple myths in Native American traditions about a "corn mother" as well as many harvest/grain deities which explain the dying of crops in winter and return of crops in the summer as life-death-rebirth cycles. Some of these deities include, but are not limited to, Adonis, Attis, Ceres, Demeter, Dagon, Mercury, Neper, Pomona, Tammuz, and Parvati (Hinduism). More information on these numerous deities can be found here and here.
It tells of the harvest traditions, tales, and festivals of ancient Ireland and the myths/tales surrounding Lugh and his worship:
"In some Wiccan and modern Pagan traditions, Lammas is also a day of honoring Lugh, the Celtic craftsman god. He is a god of many skills, and was honored in various aspects by societies both in the British Isles and in Europe. Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-NAS-ah) is still celebrated in many parts of the world today. Lugh's influence appears in the names of several European towns." source
Many pagans also associate the holiday with goddess worship as well or instead of Lugh:
"In some Pagan traditions, Lammas is the time of year when the Goddess takes on the aspects of the Harvest Mother." source
This idea of a "harvest mother" goddess is ancient, as is seen in the examples of Demeter and Ceres.
The time of year where the harvest season begins towards the end of summer and the meaning of the holiday of being grateful for a good harvest necessary to survival has significance to Christians as well:
"The word Lammas derives from the Old English phrase hlaf-maesse, which translates to loaf mass. In early Christian times, the first loaves of the season were blessed by the Church." source
The blessing of first fruits was performed annually in both the Eastern and Western Churches on the first or the sixth of August (the latter being the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ).
Lammas coincides with the feast of St. Peter in Chains, commemorating St. Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison. source
In France, the last week of July was a time when the first fruits of the harvest were blessed. Farmers who had orchards brought baskets of their produce to church as a tithe, and a priest consecrated the offering. The apples, cherries, peaches and more were distributed then among the congregation. source
Harvest celebrations and traditions can be found in many different religions and cultures, including even the Jewish/Israeli celebration of Shavout and Indian/Hindu Onam traditions. A list of these traditions and celebrations can be found here.
Many neo-pagans and Wicca followers celebrate Lammas in various ways, including decorating their homes and altars, making dolls out of corn husks, performing certain rituals or doing witchcraft especially spells or potions using the crops, making offerings of the crops, blessing the crops, giving thanks to whatever deities they worship for the successful harvest, buying fresh grains and produce from local farms or harvesting their own homegrown crops, and preparing a delicious holiday meal with the crops reaped from the harvest.
There are other modern ways of celebrating the beginning of the harvest season other than neo-pagan and Wicca which are Lammas traditions that have been passed down over time.
"Because of its association with Lugh, the skilled god, Lammas (Lughnasadh) is also a time to celebrate talents and craftsmanship. It's a traditional time of year for craft festivals, and for skilled artisans to peddle their wares. In medieval Europe, guilds would arrange for their members to set up booths around a village green, festooned with bright ribbons and fall colors. Perhaps this is why so many modern Renaissance Festivals begin around this time of year!" source
"In parts of Europe, and particularly the British Isles, Lammas became the season for country fairs."
"Today, in the United States and many other countries, the celebration of the local fair has become an annual event. In rural communities, the fair is a big to-do held typically right before children return to school. Much like the country fairs of days gone by, there are games, competitions, lots of food, and livestock for sale and trade. Although it's generally only Pagans who observe the tradition of Lammas at this time, the custom of the community fair has survived the centuries." source
Speaking of celebrating Lammas by going to community fairs, that's exactly how I spent Lammas this year. Though I've never actually celebrated the holiday before, I went to my hometown's "Community Days" festival today, and didn't even realize how these traditions connect!
Whether you call it Lammas or a different name, and regardless of whether or not it has any specific religious meaning for you, a successful harvest has always been something to celebrate in almost every society worldwide in all of history. It's no wonder that there are so many deities, holidays, traditions, and festivals associated with such an important event necessary to survival. Whether you are giving thanks to a deity or deities for the successful harvest or simply thanking your local farmers, we can all be grateful for the delicious freshly harvested crops! I know I am and plan to buy some locally grown sweet corn tomorrow!
From the research I've done, it seems like believing in a specific deity or specific religion isn't necessarily a requirement for Lammas or for celebrating the harvest by giving thanks, and it's something that I'd definitely like to start actively celebrating. I've always benefited from the fruits of the harvest but never really stopped to thank the Divine for blessing us with a successful harvest nor have I normally gone out of my way to support local farmers by purchasing their crops. I'd like to do so in the future as well as perhaps start a garden to take part in this amazing harvesting cycle myself!
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