Lammas

Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh is the first of the harvest. Being soliatry a lot of study comes from reading books and through meditation, working directly with the deities. Well, funny story… when I started a lot of the old books didn’t really give the pronounciation of a lot of the words. So, I pronounced the way I thought it sounded like to me… “luGh..Na..Sad” I was 13 so, it sounded right to me. Why not. And this is how I pronounced it for years. As I got older more stores opened where I could interact with others and have open discussion regarding our faith and path.  I think I was about 20 when I joined an open circle for  Lughnasadh. The coven that evening had a beautiful ceremony. I was left feeling so good and energized. Everyone got together to just talk about how great it was. Then I heard more and more people saying Loo…NAH…sa….  Come to find out for years… I had been pronoucing it wrong all along. Same thing happened the day I found out Samhain was Sooweeeeen…. huh?  No I wasn’t quite edjumacated… but I learned.

For many years I have been trying to find a way to incorporate the celebration as a family tradition. My family doesn’t follow the same path. I think when the kids are old enough to choose they have that right. But, what I do is share with them a bit of my beliefs in a non-formal setting.  I celebrate Christmas with them, with a tweak of my own faith and belief. When we get to the Winter Equinox, I’ll explain more in detail.

As I was saying, I like to incorparte a bit of tradition with the family in a very casual way. Lammas to me has always been a time to harvest fresh herbs, grains and fruit. So, this year I think the children and I will make some granola for the start of the school year. Then maybe bake some fresh focaccia with rosemary and salt. I have a great recipe from a book, but the link is a nice basic simple recipe.  Served with a light pasta primavera and salad.  

It’s also a time for personal reflection of accomplishments and goals to come. Since school will be starting in the fall it’s a great time to just discuss some of their ideas and focus they’d like for the coming year.

Some links below on more information about Lammas

http://www.cyberwitch.com/Wychwood/Temple/lammas.htm

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=holidays&id=3558