August 1 marks the midway point between the Summer Solstice and the Fall Equinox. Like the other midway or Fire Feasts (May Day, Halloween, and even Groundhog Day) it had significance in early agrarian societies, especially in ancient Ireland. But it is the one that's been lost to modern times for the most part. No, it doesn't have anything to with the South American animal, or the seekers of Tibetan Buddhism.
It’s taken me a long time to find information on Aug. 1 or Lammas. I finally got information in a book on Druids that I ran across at a workshop of Celtic Heritage in America. I learned, as I suspected, that Lammas is a feast of harvest. In northern climates, it would be just the early first-fruits. The word Lammas in Irish is Lughnasadh, and in Scottish Gaelic it’s Lunasad. Lunasa is Irish for August, too.
The ancient god Lugh, in Irish myth, is god of all arts and crafts. He is also considered to be the greatest of the gods, and the name implies he has a large head. Lugh is found beyond the British Isles, too, being depicted in early art from Sweden to the Punjab. Archeologists have now determined that the ancient Celtic, or Gaelic, culture began in the East, such as present-day India and gradually moved west, culminating in Ireland and other parts of the British Isles and Brittany.
Of course, the Irish added their own twist, weaving the story that Lugh has now become “Lugh-chromain” which is the Irish word we pronounce as “leprechaun,” certainly a crafty character if ever there was one.
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