Celebrating Lammas

August 1st is the celebration of Lammas, the first of three harvest festivals. It is the time to begin reaping what was sown, physical crops and emotional/spiritual actions, and enjoy the accomplishments. The fall equinox is the second harvest festival and Samhain is the third.

The word Lammas stems from "loaf mass", a Christian event, and bread is one of the main attractions of this holiday. However, this time of the season was celebrated before Christianity. Bread can be made as offerings and shared in the festivities.

Corn is also bountiful at this time. (I can't seem to get the blueberry cornbread from First Watch out of my mind). After harvesting, corn husks can be used to make corn dollies. Corn dollies can be made with various intentions and ar a fun craft to create.

In the Celtic traditions, Lughnasadh is also celebrated during this time. Some use the titles interchangeably, however they are two different events with somewhat similar purposes. Lughnasadh honors the sun God Lugh and is also related to harvest.

Lammas can be a hearty and practical time of planning. Many people begin canning foods they harvest, so it can last the winter. Prepping to survive the winter begins at Lammas, so it can be a very crucial time of year!

I haven't quite figured out my own traditions for Lammas yet. Many of the other wiccan Sabbats seem to open into a season, and Lammas doesn't have that feeling yet for me. It marks the halfway point of summer. This year I am ready to jump to Autumn due to the heat. But it is important to honor each Sabbat, so here and now I am going to plan for Lammas 2025 in hopes it inspires you.

When reflecting on Lammas, I feel it is a time of taking stock of what you have and acknowledging the work that still needs to be done to get the things you want. Journaling could be an effective way to continue with this idea. Some potential journal prompts could be:

• What have I accomplished so far this year?

  • What goals were planned and which outcomes were not planned?

• What made me successful in reaching these goals and outcomes?

• What goals are still in progress?

• What actions do I need to take to address the goals and make them reality?

I might also consider creating junk journal pages, much like a vision board, with one depicting the outcomes of the past couple months and one depicting what I need to do to make the rest of the harvest season successful.

Another idea I had was to start a daily gratitude practice from Lammas to the Fall equinox. This was then validated by some posts I saw on social media. I recently thrifted a cornucopia for the Fall equinox. Adding florals and greenery stems for each thing I am grateful for would be an intentional way to fill it for my Fall equinox celebrations.

I am very late in posting this on the day of Lammas. What are some ways you have celebrated Lammas?