Great Grandmother's Kitchen

Image from DruidNetwork.org

In Northern Europe, the summer months were often difficult.  While stores from the previous year were dwindling away, fresh food was still growing.  The beginning of August marked the start of harvest from gardens and fields, the fertility of a successful crop and hope for a bounteous year.  Because of this, our ancestors from the UK, France, Germany, and Scandinavia all celebrated this time of year in various ways. 

In the UK, Lammas(Loaf Mass) was one of the important feasts of the middle ages, where the first loaves made from the new harvest were brought to the church to be blessed.  In Ireland and Scotland(and most likely also in Gaul up until the First Century), it was Lughnasadh to the Celts; a time devoted to the hero-god Lugh.  There are many local folk traditions still remaining in various place, often strongly tied to fertility.  The "Harvest Mare" in Wales, or corn dollies are another theme, where the last grain gathered is fashioned into a braid or figure, which is then kept until the following spring. 

Many modern Heathens have Freyfaxi on this day, the name a reference to evidence of the ancient sacrifice of horses to the god Freyr, the Norse god of crops and fertility. Others tie this time of year to his mother, Nerthus, or link it to the interplay between Thor, the god of lighting and summer rain, and his bride Sif's magical golden hair.



In Slavic nations, there is some evidence that the worship of Perun, a god of thunder and lightening similar to Thor, was for the most part passed on to "Elijah the Thunderer"  after Christianity became common, and August second is still his Saint's Day in some areas. 

Whatever the belief system, it seems to me as though for many of the traditions that exist, an ongoing theme is the interplay of two concepts:  Bounty and Sacrifice. 

My friend Thalassa over at Musings of a Kitchen Witch took a modern approach to both in her recent Lammas post.  She points out the extremes of the current relationship with food, particularly that, while many go hungry in the world, Americans in particular have developed serious problems with an overabundance of empty calories, with our strange malnourished obesity rapidly becoming a cultural epidemic.Her advice?  To take this season and become involved.  I would like to add to her recommendations the idea that many food pantries in America run low in the summer, since most people donate during the winter holiday season. 

Happy Lammas, and wishing you all a rich and plentiful coming year!