Lughnasadh, also called Lughnasa or Lúnasa, is a Gaelic festival that marks the start of the harvest season. It was celebrated in many places, including Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Traditionally, it is held on August 1st, or around halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. In recent times, some celebrations moved to Sundays close to this date. Lughnasadh is one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane. It is similar to the Welsh Gŵyl Awst and the English Lammas.

Lughnasadh is mentioned in early Irish writings and has roots in ancient pagan traditions. The festival is named after the god Lugh. During the Middle Ages, it included large gatherings with ceremonies, athletic contests like the Tailteann Games, horse racing, feasting, matchmaking, and trading. A scholar named Máire MacNeill noted that religious rituals may have included offering the First Fruits, eating new food, sacrificing a bull, and performing a ritual dance. In recent centuries, these gatherings often took place on hills and mountains, with similar activities.

The festival was widely celebrated until the 20th century. It was sometimes called Garland Sunday, Bilberry Sunday, Mountain Sunday, or Crom Dubh Sunday. The tradition of climbing hills and mountains during Lughnasadh still exists in some areas and is now considered a Christian pilgrimage. One well-known example is the Reek Sunday pilgrimage to the top of Croagh Patrick on the last Sunday in July. Some fairs, like the Puck Fair, are believed to have started as Lughnasadh celebrations. Since the late 20th century, modern followers of ancient Celtic traditions have observed Lughnasadh or similar events as religious holidays. In some places, parts of the festival are now celebrated as cultural events.

Name

In Old Irish, the name was Lugnasad (Modern Irish: [ˈl̪ˠʊɣnˠəsˠəd̪ˠ]). This name combines Lug (the god Lugh) and násad (a gathering), which is not emphasized when added to the end of a word. Another idea is that it came from the word nás (meaning death), instead of násad. Later spellings of the name include Luᵹ̇nasaḋ, Lughnasadh, and Lughnasa.

In Modern Irish, the spelling is Lúnasa [ˈl̪ˠuːnˠəsˠə], which is also the name for the month of August. The genitive case is also Lúnasa, as seen in Mí Lúnasa (Month of August) and Lá Lúnasa (Day of Lúnasa). In Modern Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), the festival and the month are both called Lùnastal [ˈl̪ˠuːnəs̪t̪əl̪ˠ]. In Manx (Gaelg), the festival and the month are both called Luanistyn [ˈluanɪstθən]. The day itself may be called Laa Luanistyn or Laa Luanys.

In Welsh (Cymraeg), the day is known as Calan Awst, which originally came from a Latin term meaning the Calends of August. In Breton (brezhoneg), the day was known as Gouel Eost, meaning the Feast of August.

Mythology and folklore

In Irish mythology, Lughnasadh is believed to have been started by the god Lugh as a feast and games to honor the death of an earth goddess. Stories about Lughnasadh and its places often describe a woman who is taken against her will and later dies from sadness, shame, exhaustion, or unknown natural causes. These stories are similar to the Greek tale of Persephone. One story about the Lughnasadh site of Tailtin says the festival was created by Lugh as a memorial to his foster-mother, Tailtiu. She is said to have died from exhaustion after clearing land in Ireland to grow crops. Tailtiu may have been an earth goddess who symbolized plants that provided food for people. Another story about the Lughnasadh site of Naas says the festival was started to remember Lugh’s two wives, the sisters Nás and Bói. One idea is that the festival marked the end of summer and a time of mourning.

Folklorist Máire MacNeill studied the later traditions of Lughnasadh. She found that a common theme is a battle over the harvest between two gods. One god, called Crom Dubh in later stories, protects grain as his treasure. The other god, Lugh, must take it for people. Sometimes, this conflict is shown as a struggle over a woman named Eithne, who represents the grain. Lugh also fights and defeats a figure that symbolizes blight. MacNeill says these themes appear in older Irish myths, like the story of Lugh defeating Balor, which may represent overcoming blight, drought, and the harsh summer sun. In later folklore, Lugh is often replaced by Saint Patrick, while Crom Dubh becomes a pagan leader who owns a granary or a bull and opposes Patrick. Crom Dubh is likely the same as Crom Cruach and shares traits with the gods Dagda and Donn. He may be based on an underworld god, like Hades and Pluto, who takes the grain goddess Persephone but must let her return before harvest time.

Historic customs

In the Middle Ages, a festival called the Óenach Tailten or Áenach Tailten (now spelled Aonach Tailteann) was held each year on Lughnasadh in a place called Tailtin, which is now in County Meath. Historical records say that kings attended the festival, and a truce was declared during the event. The festival was similar to the Ancient Olympic Games and included athletic contests, horse racing, music, storytelling, trading, announcing laws, solving legal problems, signing contracts, and arranging marriages. At Tailtin, young couples began trial marriages by joining hands through a hole in a wooden door. These trial marriages lasted one year and one day, after which they could become permanent or end without consequences. After the 9th century, the festival was held less regularly and eventually faded away. It was later revived in the 20th century as the Tailteann Games. Another Lughnasadh gathering, the Óenach Carmain, took place in what is now County Kildare. Carman may have been a goddess with a story similar to Tailtiu. The Óenach Carmain included markets for food, livestock, and foreign goods. A 15th-century version of the Irish legend Tochmarc Emire ("The Wooing of Emer") is one of the earliest records of these celebrations.

From the 18th century to the mid-20th century, many Lughnasadh traditions and stories were written down. In 1962, a book titled The Festival of Lughnasa was published by folklorist Máire MacNeill. She studied surviving Lughnasadh customs, older records, and medieval writings about the festival. She concluded that there was an ancient festival around August 1 that included the following:

Many customs described by medieval writers continued into the modern era, though they were often changed to fit Christian beliefs or lost their pagan religious meanings. Lughnasadh happened during a difficult time for farmers, when old crops were finished and new ones had not yet been harvested. Many of Ireland’s famous mountains and hills were climbed during Lughnasadh. Some climbs were later turned into Christian pilgrimages, like Reek Sunday, a yearly trip to the top of Croagh Patrick in late July. Other hilltop events were secular and mostly attended by young people. On the Iveragh Peninsula, people climbed Drung Hill as part of Lughnasadh celebrations until the tradition ended around 1880.

In Ireland, people gathered bilberries and enjoyed eating, drinking, dancing, folk music, games, and matchmaking. Athletic contests like weight-throwing, hurling, and horse racing were also held. At some events, people wore flowers while climbing hills and buried them at the top to mark the end of summer. In other places, the first harvest sheaf was buried. Group fights between young men using sticks were also part of some gatherings. In 18th-century Lothian, Scotland, rival groups of young men built towers of sods with flags on top. For days, each group tried to damage the other’s tower, and at Lughnasadh, they met in a "battle."

Bull sacrifices were recorded as late as the 18th century in Ireland at Cois Fharraige, where they were offered to Crom Dubh, and in Scotland at Loch Maree, where they were offered to Saint Máel Ruba. Special meals were made with the first harvest produce. In the Scottish Highlands, people made a cake called the lunastain, which may have been an offering to gods.

Lughnasadh shared customs with Imbolc and Beltane, such as visiting holy wells, some called clootie wells. People would walk around the well in a sunwise direction while praying for health, then leave offerings like coins or clooties. Bonfires were sometimes lit at open-air gatherings in Ireland, but they were rare and not central to the celebrations.

Traditionally, Lughnasadh was always considered the first day of August. However, in recent centuries, many celebrations shifted to Sundays near August 1, either the last Sunday in July or the first Sunday in August. This change likely happened because the harvest season was busy and weather was unpredictable, making work days too important to give up. Since Sundays were already days of rest, it made sense to hold events then. The shift to the Gregorian calendar may also have influenced this change.

Lughnasadh was a time of unpredictable weather in Ireland. Heavy rains called "Lammas floods" often began in August and could destroy crops. Many folk sayings describe the weather’s impact on the harvest:

"…For Lammas floods, with crops oft havoc play, And e'en one swept the rustic bridge away."
"August needs the dew as much as men need bread. After Lammas corn ripens as much by night as by day."

Today

In Ireland, some mountain pilgrimages have remained over time. The most popular one is the Reek Sunday pilgrimage at Croagh Patrick, which brings tens of thousands of people each year.

The Puck Fair happens every year in early August in Killorglin, County Kerry. It has been recorded since the 16th century and is thought to be based on an older festival called Lughnasadh. At the start of the three-day event, a wild goat is brought into the town and made "king," and a local girl is made "queen." The festival includes traditional music and dancing, a parade, arts and crafts workshops, a horse and cattle fair, and a market. It attracts many visitors each year.

In recent years, other towns in Ireland have started holding yearly Lughnasa Festivals and Lughnasa Fairs. These events often include traditional music and dancing, arts and crafts workshops, storytelling, and markets. Festivals have been held in places like Gweedore, Sligo, Brandon, and Rathangan. Craggaunowen, an open-air museum in County Clare, hosts a yearly Lughnasa Festival where people dressed as ancient Irish people show how people lived in the past. Displays include copies of old clothing, tools, weapons, and jewelry. A similar event happens every year at Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim. In 2011, RTÉ broadcast a live television program called Lughnasa Live from Craggaunowen.

In the Irish diaspora, some families still choose August as the traditional time for family reunions and parties. However, because of modern work schedules, these events are sometimes moved to nearby holidays, like the Fourth of July in the United States.

The festival is mentioned in the 1990 play Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel, which was turned into a 1998 film.

Lughnasadh or similar festivals are celebrated by some modern Pagans, especially Celtic neopagans. These celebrations can vary widely. Some try to copy the old festival as closely as possible, while others, like Wiccans, base their celebrations on different traditions, with the Gaelic festival being one example.

Neopagans usually celebrate Lughnasadh on August 1 in the Northern Hemisphere and February 1 in the Southern Hemisphere. Some begin their celebrations the evening before sunset. Others choose the time halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox or the full moon closest to that point. In 2022, this time was August 7 in the Northern Hemisphere and February 4 in the Southern Hemisphere.

Celtic Reconstructionist pagans try to recreate ancient Celtic religion. Their practices are based on research and historical records but may be slightly changed to fit modern life. They avoid mixing traditions from different cultures.

Celtic Reconstructionists who follow Gaelic traditions often celebrate Lughnasadh when crops are first harvested or near the full moon closest to that time. In the northeastern United States, this is often when blueberries are harvested, while in the Pacific Northwest, it is when blackberries are ready. Lughnasadh is a time to thank spirits and deities for the start of the harvest season and to offer prayers and gifts to protect crops. Many honor the god Lugh, and gentle rain on the festival day is seen as his blessing. Some also honor the goddess Tailtiu and ask for protection from the Cailleachan, a spirit that might harm crops.

Wiccans use the names "Lughnasadh" or "Lammas" for their first autumn harvest festival. It is one of eight yearly "Sabbats" in their Wheel of the Year, following Midsummer and before Mabon. It is considered one of the best times for handfasting, a type of marriage ritual, the other being at Beltane. Some Wiccans celebrate by baking a figure of the "corn god" into bread, then symbolically offering and eating it.