It’s been a few years since I’ve written about Lughnasadh, and it’s on my mind today.
What is Lughnasadh? It’s an ancient Celtic harvest festival honoring the sun god Lugh, and it inspired Lammas Day, a festival in Christianity that celebrates the harvest of wheat and other early crops. I’m always interested in somewhat obscure holidays, and I was especially interested in this one because so few holidays happen in August. (Lughnasadh is on August 1.)
Are you wondering how to pronounce Lughnasadh? No worries. The Lughnasadh pronounciation is right here:
Lughnasadh or Lammas Day is a great time to take stock of life and to give thanks for blessings. For many of my friends, it’s a natural time for reflection and renewal, anyway, as they get their children ready for another school year.
I’ve seen people talk about it as a time for regrets, farewells, harvests, and preserves. Whether you’re Christian, pagan, Wiccan, or none of the above, I think these ideas are universal, so that’s what I’m going to write about today. This is going to be a little more personal and self-indulgent than most of my posts, but I hope that helps as you think about where you’re at in this year, too!
Regrets
One of the heartbreaks in an agrarian society like ancient Europe was planting seeds that never grew or trees and vines that never bore fruit. We’ve all got those in our modern lives, too.
Somehow, it seems both like a hundred years ago and like yesterday that I made New Year’s resolutions for 2019. Several of them didn’t come to pass. I didn’t get better at remembering birthdays and getting on-time gifts—I still need to work on it. I got overwhelmed at stressed at work, even though I vowed not to. I didn’t get to where I wanted to financially or as a writer.
What are your regrets for this year? Maybe you can make them better. Maybe you just need to move on and make a fresh start. Either way, acknowledging them helps to move forward.
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Farewells
Now is a good time to say goodbye to things that are passing out of our lives. We may be mourning them, or we may be happy to see them go. We might decide right now to leave some things behind.
As I write this, I’m really happy that I’ve said goodbye to drinking wine. While it was never more than a moderate habit, I’m healthier and I sleep better without it. It was the right decision for me. I am also saying goodbye to a secret dream…it’s the right thing to do.
Harvests
This is also a great time to acknowledge and benefit from work that has started to bear fruit. Sometimes, a harvest may surprise us, and other times, it may be smaller than we’d hoped. Either way, it’s worth celebrating.
Although I haven’t gotten in as great a shape as I would’ve liked, I’ve gotten a little healthier. I’ve seen some wonderful results from my efforts at work. The book I released last March, 5,000 Writing Prompts, has been a success, and I’m looking into new ways to promote it. I may also add a novella that was originally part of a boxed set into Kindle Unlimited.
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Preserves
Finally, this is a good time to think about the good memories we’ve made and the sweet things we want to hold onto. For the rest of my life, I’ll remember our romantic trip to Paris and our wonderful visits with family and friends. I’ll treasure the recollections of the weekend adventures I’ve gone on with Mr. Donovan in the greater Los Angeles area, and I’ll hold onto the habit of going on them.
If you’d like to celebrate Lughnasadh (or Lammastide) in other ways, you could consider baking a loaf of bread to honor the harvest of wheat. In the Catholic church, the first loaf baked from the new crop would be brought to church to be blessed. Enjoy it with preserves.
You could also consider writing down your regrets (and your farewells, if you’re glad to see them go) on pieces of paper and burning them. I think that can be really satisfying.
Do you have lore to share about Lughnasadh, or thoughts about your regrets, farewells, harvests, and preserves at this time of year? Is “back to school” a significant time for you? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful week!
Some Native American tribes hold a Green Corn Harvest Festival every year in late July or early August, depending on when the crop is ready to harvest. We discovered this when we had a summer place on a large lake in Oklahoma. The celebration is held to show appreciation of a good crop. At least that’s my understanding.
Hi, Bonnie! I didn’t know about this. That’s so interesting! I’ve noticed before that sometimes different countries or different cultures have similar celebrations. I like that. 🙂 Thanks for sharing! I love learning that kind of thing.
Very timely, as I’m packing up and downsizing to move to another state for Mr. To go back to school. I’m pretty much done here, but it is sad to see people and do things for the last time.
Rachel, oh my gosh! That is huge! What a big transition…you guys were there for a long time. I know how it goes, of course. I think it can be such an emotional time. Of course, it’s an exciting time, too! I want to hear about it!
Hi!! What a fun little post, thank you for sharing. I will say, when I read that you didn’t feel you’re where you wanted to be as a writer, it made me sad and also made me say, “wait a minute!” I think of your character, Paige, weekly. I think of your posts and all your helpful tips. For me, you’ve made more of an impact than you know as a writer. You’re one of the nicest and happiest people I know, but also you’re honest. I find it refreshing. Wishing you a stress-free rest of your week!!!!!
Aww Savanaah, I appreciate that! I have a lot of goals and it usually takes longer than I expect to get there…which I think just makes me like everyone else. 🙂 Thanks for the kind words! Hope everything is going great with you!
Thanks for sharing information about Lammas Day! I thought about my own regrets, farewells, harvests and preserves after reading each of yours. It helped me to put some things into perspective and I wasn’t expecting that! Thanks again!
Hi, Kay! Thank you so much for reading, and I’m so glad you connecting with it. I appreciate the positivity. I hope you’re having a great week!
That was a very enjoyable read. I will have to think about writing down my regrets and tearing them up (I’m in an apartment, so burning isn’t a good idea). Funny thing is, I was already thinking about making a loaf of bread with my son. I think I’ll have to do that tomorrow!
I forgot to say, I always like this time of year. The back-to-school time. Fresh books, pens, paper… I always had a sense of renewal at this time. Plus, my birthday’s just a month away, lol!