What is Lammas?

We are well into summer now, balmy nights and breezy days have taken up our lives for the time being and the warmth is such a welcome change. For Pagans, being this far into summer means that 'Lammas' is just around the corner, or in this year's case, today.

Lammas is a Pagan festival from Celtic origin that celebrates the start of harvest, welcomes the start of Autumn and was one of four festivals to help split up the year. Lammas was traditionally held on the day the fields would be harvested and reaped for their nutritious goods. This harvest season would continue until Samhain (nowadays known as Halloween) when the last of the food would be stored away for the winter months.

To celebrate, Pagans would play music, dance, eat and get together as a community, whilst others would perform rituals and ceremonies similar to this one. A popular thing to do on Lammas is to play traditional games that legend says Lugh (the God Lammas was named after) started as homage to his deceased mother. 

Nowadays people still do all of this to celebrate. They bake berry pies and loaves of bread, spend quality time with friends and family and often groups will be involved in rituals or ceremonies to welcome harvest.

Now I'm not a pagan or a wiccan myself but still find their festivals absolutely fascinating! The celebrations sound like a lot of fun too and I'd really love to get involved and celebrate them one year.

What festivals (if any) do you celebrate and what do you do?