A Mid-Summer’s Day Dream

The beginning of August is the celebration of Lughnasadh, one of 4 primary festivals on the Celtic calendar which were observed across Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The others are Samhain (harvest and winter prep); Imbolc (end of winter and lambing season); and Beltane (summer!). The Celts lives revolved around periods of light and dark. Samhain in October began the dark half of the year while Beltane in May welcomed in the light.

This mid-summer festival revolved around the god, Lugh, who started this festival as a funeral honoring his mother. The goddess, Tailtiu, died from exhaustion after clearing the lands so the people could farm. During Lughnasadh, temporary truces would take place between kings and other leaders. It was a rare occurrence to have entire communities gather together peacefully so many meetings and negotiations would take place. Celebratory tradition included athletic competitions, matchmaking, trading, and feasting.

Sacrificial offerings included those of the “first fruits” to honor the gods. The Celts harvested the first corn and reaped bilberries (similar to blueberries). A bull was sacrificed and then replaced with a younger one. Visits were made to holy wells, where the pilgrims walked sunwise, brining small offerings in the hope of gaining health and wealth.

This was also the time where trials of marriage would take place during a handfasting ceremony. Hands were joined through a slab of wood and be on trial for one year and one day. During next year’s festival, these trial marriages could be made permanent or absolved.

I love making connections between celebrations of old and modern day spirituality. It’s amazing to see how we are all connected by our current selves and other people of the past. The Bible speaks many times of offering your first fruits to God.

• Exodus 23:16: Also, you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field. Also, the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.

• Deuteronomy 18:4: You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.

• Proverbs 3:9: Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce.

Christianity has replaced the visits to the holy wells with modern day pilgrimages. In County Mayo, in Ireland, pilgrims keep the tradition alive by climbing Croagh Patrick in a popular hike on Reek Sunday (the last Sunday in July). St. Patrick fasted here for 40 days, and a church has been established there since the 5th century. Fairs still abound in celebrating the arrival of mid-summer, with the largest being Puck Fair. Well-established in County Kerry, it boasts of parades, dancing, cattle markets, and even the crowning of a goat as king and a local girl as queen.

Celebrate these golden weeks of summer. Express gratitude for the warm sun and beautiful plants that have grown. Pick a bouquet of flowers for your table. Cook with local vegetables. Go for a walk in the rain. Gather berries and enjoy their burst of sweetness. Before we know it, everything growing will be tucked away for another winter.