Lughnasadh

(aka Lughnsad, Lughsnaad and other spellings; Bron Trogain; Gwyl Awst; Thanksgiving; Harvest Home. See also Lammas/Loafday/Loafmass. The evening of the 31st, the day of the 1st)

This page was created by Marc Carlson
It was last edited 9 June 2004

Lughnasadh, the Gaelic for "festival of Lugh" is pronounced "LOO-nah-sah." (Some people maintain
that the Scots dialect says it "LOO-nah-soo.")

Interpretations

• The first day of the harvest season, the first time that you recognize a change in the length of  day.  The ripening grain heralds the coming of Autumn.  It is a festival of plenty and prosperity.
• An ancient festival associated with Trograinn, the son of Griann, in the areas where They were venerated called Bron Trograinn (the Rage of Trograinn).
• Celebration of the Sun God.
• Celebration of the Sun God Lugh's victory over Chrom Dubh and granting Corn to his people.
• It is the feast of the Marriage of the god Lugh, and the time of the Harvest Fair.
•  This is the time of the marriage of the Human Consort or the Sacred King to the Goddess of the Land and Sovereignity.
• A time of sacrifices for Increase and Plenty
• The time of recognizing the Earth's sorrowing in autumn.
• To some people, this is a festival honoring Lugh, and the Goddess Aine.
• According to some sources, this is the time of the maiming of the King, as the force of growth is taken from Him.  One way this purportedly took place was for the king to be tied by his hair to an  Oak tree with one foot on the cauldron, and his other on the back of a Horse or a Sow (Both are representative of Goddess of Sovereignty).  The support of Sovereignity was then driven from him, causing him to be maimed in such a way to destroy His fertility but not His life.  In some cases, his life was not taken until the three days before Samhain when his Tanaise, or heir began his reign. The King embodied the fertility of the land, which he had come to be through his marriage to the Goddess of Sovereignty. This fertility, at times had to be stopped to allow ripening to take place.
• A festival representing the great fair of Tailltenn (now called Teltown) dedicated to honor Lugh's foster mother Tailltiu (pronounced Telsha), and established by Lugh Himself, after she died clearing the plain that is named for her (according to some, she is a Goddess of the land and Sovereignity).
• The warriors returned from the fields of battle to begin harvesting the crops.  At this time fairs were held (although some fairs were only held once every three years).
• Tailltean marriages; The date of many handfastings, or trial marriages lasting a year and a day. After that time the couple had to return to the same place at the fair the following year to make their contract a permanent one. They also had the right to declare themselves divorced by walking in opposite directions away from each other.
• Tailltean Games:  there were many games and races (foot and horse).
• Recitations of poems, genealogies and romantic tales. Music was provided by cruits (harps), timpans, trumpets, horns and cuisig or piob (pipes). Feats of horsemanship were performed. There were also jugglers and clowns. It seems that there were usually three distinct market places; one for food and clothes, one for livestock and another for luxury goods. If it rained during this festival, it was believed that Lugh himself was present.
• Bonfires.
• Gathering on sacred hills, and visiting the sacred wells. Tie red or blue threads onto the tails of cattle, while repeating incantations. This they did for the milk to retain its goodness, a ball of cow's hair or ronag was put into the milk pail on this day.  Curds and cheese were specially  prepared from that day's milk.
• Driving of horses (the embodiment of the Goddess of Sovereignty) down to the beach and into the sea.
• Closely associated with the common folk and agriculture; "the festival of first fruits";  As the People were still by and large living on the stores of the previous years harvest, this was the time when the stores were at the least. It was a time of looking forward to the harvest time just starting.

 Problems

•  This holiday was completely unknown to the pagan Anglo-Saxons, and has no relationship to Lammas.