Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh

In Wicca and other forms of Neopaganism, Lughnasadh (or Lammas) is one of the eight sabbats or solar festivals in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is the first of the three autumn harvest festivals, the other two being the Autumn equinox or Mabon and Samhain. One telling of the story commemorates the sacrifice and death of the Wiccan Corn God; in its cycle of death, nurturing the people, and rebirth, the corn is considered an aspect of their Sun God. Some Neopagans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. These celebrations are not based on Celtic culture, despite the Celtic name used for the sabbat, however this name seems to have been a late adoption, since in early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is merely referred to as "August Eve"

Many Wiccans and other Neopagans also use the name Lammas for the sabbat, taken from the Anglo-Saxon and Christian holiday which occurs at about the same time. As the name (from the Old English language Anglo-Saxon ''hlafmæsse'' "loaf-mass", "loaves festival" implies, it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Wiccan and other eclectic Neopagan rituals may incorporate elements from either festivals.