Lammas

August 1st

Symbol: a head of corn

The Lammas Festival at the beginning of August is one of the four Celtic cross-quarter days, linked to the old farming calendar from a time when people were very close to the land and their lives were governed by the changing of the seasons and the need to grow enough food to survive.

The word Lammas comes from Old English hlafmaesse meaning "loaf barley-cake", and this is the time when the cereal crops are harvested. There are links to other cultures and religions too, notably Demeter and Ceres, also associated with crops and the harvest. There are many ancient customs involving the cutting of the first and last sheaf. The spirit of the corn, sometimes referred to as The Corn Mother, was the sacred symbol of this festival. Many cultures, including the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, held similar types of rituals where the bounty of the land was honoured.

Corn dollies are a feature of the Lammas festival, and different areas would weave their own beautifully complex designs, often decorated with bright ribbons or wool. Traditionally the corn dollies woven at Lammas were ploughed back into the land at Imbolc, symbolising the return of the Corn Spirit to the earth, in an attempt to ensure a good crop the next year.

The symbol at Stonewylde for Lammas is the head of wheat or corn, and it's a full day of celebrations for the folk of Stonewylde, but particularly the Villagers. Rituals start before dawn up in the Lammas Field, with the community spread around the perimeter and linked together to greet the sun rise. The crop is harvested in this special field in the traditional way using sickles, and every man, woman and child from the Village is involved with harvesting the Lammas Field in time-honoured fashion.

Lammas cakes are eaten for breakfast, made from corn, butter and honey and flavoured with nutmeg. This is the day for honouring the Corn Mother, the symbolic spirit who lives in the crops and sacrifices herself every year for the community.

When the last sheaf is harvested, it's carried ceremoniously to Magus and the Lammas Queen. She must weave it into a special corn dolly that is used in the rituals up at the Stone Circle that night. There is also another custom which some readers have disliked - the killing of hundreds of rabbits trapped in the centre of the field, and made into special Lammas pies for supper. No place for squeamishness in the countryside!

You can read all about the Lammas festivities in the second book, Moondance of Stonewylde. Lammas is a good time to remember that we're all dependent on the bounty of the earth. Without the fertility of the land, and the life-giving powers of the sun and the rain, there would be no living creatures on this planet. Take time to honour Nature's gifts to us at Lammas.