Celebrating First Harvest Festivals in August

The beginning of August marks the First Harvest. The First Harvest festival is one of eight festivals celebrated by modern Neo-Pagans, influenced by the festivals and holy days of pre-Christian peoples all around the world. The eight festivals, called Sabbats, are divided into the Lesser Sabbats and the Greater Sabbats. The Lesser Sabbats are the summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes. The Greater Sabbats take place between each of the Quarters and are known to modern Pagans as Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine and Lughnasadh.

The most common names for this festival are Lughnasadh (loo-NAH-sah), a Celtic word with as many spellings as pronunciations, and Lammas, from the Anglo-Saxon hlaef-mass, which means Loaf Mass. As Lammas comes from post-Christian times, I personally prefer Lughnasadh.

The word 'Lughnasadh' comes from the Irish Gaelic for 'the nasadh (games or an assembly) of Lugh (LOO),' an important Celtic deity and hero. It is said that Lugh set up the games in honor of his foster-mother, the earth-goddess, Tailtiu.

Lughnasadh probably went for several days, and there are many modern festivals in Great Britain that may derive from this celebration. Lughnasadh was a first-fruits harvest festival, and the celebrations usually included games and races, temporary marriages, and the signing of contracts.

As a first-fruits festival, the first fruits of the season are harvested. Some are given back to the earth, as a sacrifice, and also to encourage the rest of the harvest to continue to thrive. The First Harvest feast is one of the largest of any of the other Sabbats.

Horse-racing was very popular, as well as whichever local sports were most popular, including dart-throwing, high-jumping, pole-vaulting, stone-throwing, and triple-jumping. Foot races and games similar to those played at modern Scottish Festivals were also fairly standard entertainment.

Telltown, Teltown, or Tailtean marriages were temporary unions entered into at Lughnasadh. Couples would join hands through a holed stone, and pledge a union of a year and a day, a ceremony known as a hand-fasting. Next Lughnasadh, the couple was able to either enter into a more permanent arrangement, or to walk away, and enter into another temporary hand-fasting, if they so chose. Men and women without an intended spouse might line up on either side of a wall high enough that they couldn't see each other. The women would put their hands through holes in the wall, and the men had to decide based on nothing more than the appearance of the hand. The two who joined hands were hand-fasted for a year and a day, with the same conditions as above.

In addition to temporary and permanent marriages, Lughnassadh was one of the quarter days on which criminal and civil courts were convened, contracts were signed, legal agreements entered into, and rent payments due. It was also a traditional time for fairs, and one of the most widespread practices during these fairs is the crowning of a goat or a ram for the day.

Though Lughnasadh itself is a Celtic holy day, the first harvest was celebrated around the world.

In ancient Greece, the festival of Adonis, a vegetation god whose name means simply "Lord", was celebrated in late July. Adonis was made to spend the winters with Persephone and the summers with Aphrodite; as a result, the land bloomed and flourished during the summer, when he was above-ground, and died and withered when he was in the underworld during the winter.

The beginning of August was also sacred to Demeter and Persephone, as Demeter was the goddess of the grain.

In ancient Rome during this time was held the Heracleia, held to honor the hero-god Hercules, who is sometimes compared to Lugh. The Heracleia was celebrated with games and contests, like Lughnasadh. Also, the earth goddess Ops was honored as Lady Bountiful and planter of seeds.

Tammuz was the Akkadian or Assyro-Babylonian equivalent to the Sumerian Dumuzi and the Syrian/Greek Adonis, as a vegetation god of death and resurrection. Ishtar, Inanna, and Aphrodite were goddesses of love and beauty of Akkadia, Sumer, and Greece, respectively, and were the consorts of the above-mentioned gods. Tammuz/Dumuzi died every year in the hottest part of the year, and Ishtar/Innana went down to the Underworld to Ereshkigal, the goddess of the dead, every year to retrieve him.

Dumuzi spent half of the year in the Underworld, and his sister, Geshtinanna, volunteered to spend the other half of the year in the Underworld. Dumuzi was the sacrificed sacred king, the Bull of Heaven.

Sif, the wife of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, had beautiful golden hair until Loki cut it off for a prank. Loki persuaded the dwarves to make magical hair for Sif, which would grow again once it touched her head. This seems to be a metaphor for the golden grain that grows and is cut each year.

The Egyptian god Osiris, like Tammuz, Dumuzi, and Adonis, was a grain god who died each year, was mourned by his wife, Isis, and was brought back to life. Osiris taught humankind to plant and harvest grain, how to make tools, and how to make bread and beer.

The Canaanite god Baal was a death and resurrection god of the Adonis/Tammuz/Dumuzi type. He was also the god of thunder and rain who brought fertility to the earth, and he was symbolized by a bull. He also died and was reborn during this time.

While this theme has been celebrated all over the world around the same time, it isn't universal. The theme of the Corn King is often celebrated at different times of the year in different parts of the world, depending on their seasons, and when harvest is. So, hotter parts of the world celebrate it earlier, while colder parts of the world celebrate it later.

Thus, modern Neo-Pagans may choose to celebrate some parts of this festival at different times, depending on which traditions they are drawing from.

Nevertheless, the themes of feasting, of celebrating with games and shows of physical prowess, of giving thanks for the first of the harvest (and any other good things), and of asking for a continuation of the good harvest are all fairly universal themes in the modern celebration of the First Harvest.

The confusion of the Julian vs. the Gregorian calendar means that Lughnasadh was, for a while, celebrated on either August 1 or August 12, depending on whether one was celebrating New Style or Old Style, respectively. New Style eventually won out, which means that today, Lughnasadh is traditionally celebrated on August 1. Some modern Pagans hold group ritual on the closest weekend to August 1. Still others feel that the dates of the Greater Sabbats change, like the solstices and equinoxes, and they calculate the dates based on the positions of the zodiac in relation to the sun. Nevertheless, the First Harvest is typically celebrated sometime in early August.

Typical Lughnasadh activities include baking bread from scratch, making corn dollies (vaguely human-shapes made from grain) for various ritual purposes, feasting, giving thanks, and spending time with family and tribe, whether related by blood or not.

Today, most of us live in cities. We don't grow our own food, we usually are very disconnected from the process by which our food comes to us, and we certainly aren't harvesting grain of any kind. There are still many ways to celebrate and honor the First Harvest.

This time of year, there are Farmer's Markets, county and state fairs and fruit stands and local produce on the sides of roads. You can indulge in the First Harvest by purchasing locally grown produce from such sources, or by visiting local farms and volunteering to help harvest the produce in exchange for some of that harvest. It is very important to know where your food comes from.

You can go berry-picking, and then make berry pies, or learn to preserve the berries to enjoy in the winter. You can learn to bake bread. There are plenty of recipes available on the Internet, and it's okay to use a bread machine, if you have one.

You can also celebrate the "harvesting" of an idea. What have you "harvested" in the past year? What ideas or projects have been completed? Did you clean out the attic? Repaint the kitchen? Plant a garden? Finish the first draft of the novel you're writing? Celebrate this harvest. Invite friends to your house to show off your beautiful kitchen, and serve them the bounty of your garden.

It is also a time to nourish yourself. Take a look at your diet, and, if necessary, make it healthier. It's very easy to do this at this time of year, with so many fresh fruits and vegetables available. In addition to a healthy diet, you can also celebrate physical prowess by organizing neighborhood or family games, by joining a gym, working out at home, or joining a walking group. You could also learn yoga or T'ai Chi, or you can dance.

Also, what nourishes your spirit? What makes you feel most alive? Is it dancing? Making music? Gardening? Eating good food? Spending time with loved ones? Hiking? Whatever it is, do it. And do it mindfully, consciously, without hurrying or worrying about the other things you "should" be doing.

The First Harvest is a little like Thanksgiving, a time for family, feasting, and giving thanks. It's also a time to learn about where your food comes from, and to have fun.