Lughnasadh.....

Lughnasadh or Lammas February 1st.

This Celtic harvest festival takes its name from the Irish god Lugh, one of the principal gods of the Tuatha De Danann, giving us Lughnasadh in Ireland, Lunasdál in Scotland, and Laa Luanys in the Isle of Man. Lugh devoted this festival to his foster-mother, Tailtiu, the last queen of the Fir Bolg, who died from fatigue after clearing a great forest so that the land could be cultivated. When the men of Ireland gathered at her death-bed, she told them to hold funeral games in her honor. As long as they were held, she prophesied Ireland would not be without song. Tailtiu’s name is from Old Celtic Talantiu, "The Great One of the Earth," suggesting she may firstly have been a personification of the land itself, like many Irish goddesses. In some places, a woman—or an image of one—was crowned with flowers and seated on a throne, with garlands scattered at her feet. Dancers whirled around her. In this way, the ancient goddess of the harvest was still remembered with honour.

...As years passed, Lughnasadh began to solidify into events and ceremonial activities designed to commemorate not only Tailtiu and the reward of the harvest that her original sacrifice provided but also to respect the work and sacrifice of human beings as they strove to provide nourishment for their families and community....

...With the approaching of Christianity to the Celtic lands, the old festival of Lughnasadh took on Christian symbolism. Loaves of bread were baked from the first of the harvested grain and placed on the church altar on the first Sunday of August (northern hemisphere) and February (Sothern hemisphere). The Christianized name for the feast of Lughnasadh is Lammas which means "loaf mass"....

....British pagans often refer to the date of August 6th ( february 6th in the Southern hemisphere) as Old Lammas. This date has long been considered a 'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the 'tetramorph' figures found on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune (the other three figures being the Bull, the Eagle, and the Spirit). Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac, and these naturally ally with the four Great Sabbats of paganism. Christians have adopted the same iconography to signify the four gospel-writers.

Colcannon ( traditional Lughnasadh Dish!!)

6 servings:1 medium cabbage, quartered and core removed, 2 lb potatoes, scrubbed and sliced with skins left on, 2 medium leeks, thoroughly washed and sliced, 1 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoons each mace, salt, pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cabbage until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain off the water and chop the cabbage. Set aside.
Bring another pot of water to a boil and boil the potatoes until tender. Drain off the water and set aside.
Put the leeks in a saucepan, cover with the milk, bring close to boiling and then turn down to a simmer until tender. Set aside.
Add the mace, salt and pepper, and garlic to the pot with the potatoes and mash well with a hand masher. Now add the leeks and their milk and mix in with the potatoes, taking care not to break down the leeks too much. Add a little more milk if necessary to make it smooth. Now mash in the cabbage and lastly the butter. The texture that you want to achieve is smooth-buttery-potato with interesting pieces of leek and cabbage well distributed in it.
Transfer the whole mixture to an ovenproof dish, make a pattern on the surface and place under the broiler to brown.
After the first mouthful, Irish families might call out, "Destruction to the Red-haired Hag!" The red-haired hag is a personification of hunger.

with thanks to Mara Freeman