The Lammas Festival at the
beginning of August is one of the four Celtic Cross Quarter Festivals, linked
to the old farming calendar. This was
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 Irish name for
this festival is Lughnasadh; it is a holiday sacred to the Irish God Lugh.
Lugh is associated with the power of sun and light, and so fires were
burned in honor of Him on this day. In addition to His associations with
light, Lugh is a God of Skill and Craft, a master of all human skills.
On this His feast day, it is particularly appropriate to celebrate
our own abilities, skills and accomplishments.
As our anniversary comes so close to this festival, we decided to base our celebrations around Lammas. We have always felt close to the land and we are also very grateful for our skills. We believe that this time of the year is very special.....along with plenty of others..... and we love to harvest the fruits of our labours.
It therefore seemed most appropriate.
I researched plenty of ideas on the internet and we were lucky enough to have hosted a handfasting in our own garden some years ago. This all helped us to create our own ceremony.
The willow circle was the perfect venue.
It was decorated with corn dollies, flowers, ribbons and sheaves of wheat.
Around the circle were beaded pentograms.
This one was the special one I made for Steve.
Hanging from the arch was the carving Steve did for me.
The children scattered flowers and petals around the circle after Mike
had swept out the negative energies with the besom broom.
Family and close friends gathered round and our ceremony began, ably led by
our very good friend, Mike....he of the purple cloak.
A poem was read calling on the energies of North, South, East and West.
Steve and I gave messages to each other.
And I sang a song for Steve with the help of my brother on his double bass and friend Nick on his guitar.
Next we had a big present giving session. It was traditional for farmers to give their workers gifts before winter to show their benevolence. Seeing as this was usually gloves, the ladies had gloves made by me.
The men had wooden bookmarks carved by Steve.
The children had owls made with special fabrics.
Finally we had the Lammas feast laid out under the trees.
Most of the food was home-grown and home-made.....not the Stilton!!
Mead, redcurrant wine, elderflower champagne, flans, loaves, flapjack and the most incredible cake made by Amanda.
It depicts the Freshwinds Garden.
Our friends Nick and Sally and my sister Paula and brother Jamie had secretly practised for some entertainment. They sang several Steeleye Span songs including "Black Jack Davy" and "All around my hat."
As the afternoon glided on, in glorious sunshine, we had a scavenger hunt in the nearby woods and trekked across the field for a barbeque at the little house where we sat til the sun was long gone.
Altogether a wonderful day (and whole weekend) in the most perfect setting.
Many thanks to Anne and Tim for letting us have our special day there and to our friends and family who supported us and made it such a memorable occasion.
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