Lughnassadh: Pagan Harvest Celebration Still Observed Across America

Lughnassadh, pronounced Loo-nahs-ah, is a Pagan holiday to celebrate the harvest. The celebration occurs anywhere from approximately July 31st to August 2nd, depending on the group celebrating. Lughnassadh is a sabbat, or a celebration that mark the turn of the wheel of the year, and is also known by many other names such as Lammas, August Eve, Feast of Bread, Lunasa, Cornucopia, Festival of Light, and many others. Lughnassadh is celebrated at this time of year only in the Northern hemisphere, while they in turn celebrate Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere.

With that said, what do Pagans do to celebrate Lughnassadh? Think of it as an early version of Thanksgiving. Mostly there is a lot of feasting and dancing to take place. Some Pagans will also spend the day baking their cakes and breads for the winter ahead. There will be many celebrations across the country, such as the Three Cranes Grove celebration in Columbus, OH, the Green Spirit Festival near Mt. Horeb, WI with Selena Fox, and the Summer Frolic Festival in Venango County, PA.

Besides attending any number of open celebrations across the world, what could a solitary Wiccan or Pagan do to celebrate the great summer harvest? Pagans and Wiccans see the celebration of Lughnassadh to mean that the Sun God is losing his strength since the sun will begin to rise farther south every day, which will make the nights longer. So, as summer begins to pass Wiccans and Pagans celebrate by remembering the warmth and bounty of the summer in the foods we all eat. Besides baking a variety of breads and cakes, some also use other summer harvested produce and makes things such as blackberry pies and cobbler, corn dollies, anything with apples, other wild berries and berry pies, corn pudding, potato soup, Irish stew, wines made from berries or fruits such as apricots, lamb, rice, ale, and various nuts.

Pagans and Wiccans that still celebrate the holiday with ritual can choose from a variety of appropriate incense, herbs, crystals, and candles. Some of the various herbs and incense that may be used for celebration would be cedarwood, cinnamon, ginger, heather, myrtle, fenugreek, sandalwood, rose, sunflower, aloe, and frankincense. Various crystals that may be used as symbols for Lughnassadh include peridot, citrine, aventurine, amber, tiger's eye, and quartz, among others. And as for candles, worshippers may choose anything that ranges in different hues of brown, green, or yellow.

So how will you celebrate Lughnassadh this year? Even those that do not follow the Pagan or Wiccan path tend to inadvertently celebrate in some way or another by eating the fruits of the harvest of summer, or by making corn dollies with their children. Many generations of children in the past have also known that at this point in summer, school will soon return since the corn crops are reaching their peak heights. However, it doesn't matter if you are a Pagan, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, or anything in between, we should all take some time from our busy summer days to give thanks to the tasty abundance of foods that summertime crops bring to our tables and to our homes.