Seasonal Arts Programme: Lughnasadh
So, here we are, right at the start of August, with the next event in our SAP line-up fast approaching.
This Sunday, we'll be gathering to celebrate Lughnasadh - another important moment in the celtic calendar. We'll mark it with our usual lovely format: crafting and sharing a pot luck feast in a beautiful garden setting.
For Lughnasadh, we'll be keeping things simple: collecting cut flowers in glass jam-jars to then gather into beautiful mini bouquets. We'll tie them, take them home, then hang them up to slowly dry as the season around us turns.
If you'd like to join, you're ever so welcome - simply get in touch for more details.
We'll be meeting this Sunday (9th August) between 11am - 2pm. Please send us an email for the location details and any further information you might need.
As with all our events, there is no pressure to participate in all aspects of the gathering - you can come along to join in with crafting, for food, or even just to spend time in a garden setting.
Thank you to Anna for the beautiful background art work featured on our poster.
Caitlin has kindly gathered some research to give us all a bit of insight into Lughnasadh...
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"It is a time to honor Lugh for his gifts of abundance, fertility, and craftsmanship. It symbolizes the union of the earth and sun, as well as the importance of community and gratitude for the sustenance that nature provides.1
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Welcome to Lughnasadh, the first harvest festival in the Celtic calendar. You may have also heard this festival referred to as Lammas of First Harvest, depending on the context that you grew up in, but here we mark the first fruit, grain or abundance of our labour. Remember those intentions set between Imbolc and Litha, the seeds (real or metaphorical) you planted as the seasons got warmer and the ground thawed, now is the time to reap those benefits (hello Leo season ☀).The festival’s name pays homage to the Celtic deity Lugh, who was born of a Divine father and a Mortal mother, who often represents a bridge and union between the two worlds. Due to his dual nature and diverse abilities, Lugh is often seen as a deity of craftsmanship, blessing those who work with and from the land. This also invokes the celebration of community, and the recognition of no job is too small, nor should any be overlooked when all skill and labour leads to the magnificent communal feasting of Lughnasadh.
It is said Lugh had a foster mother, Tailtiu (Tall-tu, rhymes with chew), who was part (possibly Queen) of an ancient Irish community Fir Bolg. She is thought to have raised him, instilling her knowledge of the land and work ethic on Lugh which allowed him to become the skilled labourer he is remembered for, however she is often forgotten. In Irish mythology, Tailtiu is responsible for clearing the land which made farming possible, bringing fertility to the soil and helping the people survive. As often happens in mythology, women represent the sustenance, the nutrients, from which life grows and continues to unfold, no matter the cost to their own body. Tailtiu died from exhaustion. She cleared the land for her people, and gave her mortal body to the land so others could continue to grow, survive and thrive. Not only is this harvest festival giving thanks to Lugh who blesses all those who are skilled farmers, bakers and cooks, but Tailtui’s story reminds us the give thanks to the hidden labour: those who support the others who go out and ‘do the work’, those who pave the way for the work to be done. Everything is cyclical, and we all rely on harmony within our community.
Given grains were one of the most important crops to early agricultural communities it is no surprise wheat is one of the key connections to this celebration. Baking and breaking bread with family and friends is one of the simplest ways to honour this time of year as you get to enjoy the early harvest together. But don’t worry my gluten free baddies, because of course rice and corn are still grain, and surely as we adapt these festivals for our modern era we could argue we are celebrating the multiplicity of what we now get to enjoy in this crazy day and age (anything can be what you make it!).
Similarly, the practice of growing, harvesting and storing extra food to see you through the coming colder months also begins, as we look ahead to the changing of the seasons as the wheel slowly turns into Autumn over the coming months. Perhaps now is a good time to use any extra energy, time or intention to think about what will make you feel better when we no longer have the late summer evenings.
No matter how (or if) you choose to celebrate, Lughnasadh is an excellent reminder to slow down, rest and enjoy what is around you and what you have created for yourself. A mindful walk, a nourishing meal, or five seconds enjoying some hot buttery toast, you’ve worked hard this year, and you deserve to enjoy your rewards.
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