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Happy Summer, everyone! Today is a special day in the traditional British calendar. It is the day directly in between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox, when the balance of light and darkness in the year begins tipping more towards the dark.
This day is called ‘Lammas’, which comes from the word ‘Loaf mass’. A loaf is a piece of bread. The festival is associated with bread as it is traditionally the time of the first harvest, the grain harvest, when people can start making bread. In the UK, grains are traditionally used to make bread and also beer, so a traditional way to celebrate Lammas is to eat bread and drink beer. Which many British people are probably doing today anyway…
This festival is also sometimes called ‘Lughnasadh’ or ‘Lunasa’. Both names are related to the ancient god Lugh (pronounced ‘Lou’ to rhyme with ‘you’). Lugh is the god of light and sunshine. Have you ever wondered why, in English, we write the word ‘light’ with a ‘g’ and ‘h’, even though these letters are silent? The god Lugh is the reason.
He is also associated with art, skill and creativity.
So, this festival is a celebration of harvest, creativity, grains and light! I hope you are enjoying sunshine, allowing your creativity to flourish and eating delicious, abundant food today. Happy Lammas :)
What summer traditions do you have in your culture? Please let me know in the comments.
Want to know more about British culture and celebrations? Please book a class with me.
Man photo by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash
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