A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: Summon the Dawn Light by Elvenking

So this is one of the quieter cross pagan holidays for me. It’s right when a lot of people are out of town, it isn’t a major seasonal change, and in general, there isn’t a lot happening. So instead, what is it?

According to Wikipedia (I know, not the most reliable source, fuck off, I’m trying my best here), it is originally a Celtic festival to mark the beginning of the harvest season. As with all the high days being based on seasonal shifts, the specific date when it actually occurs will shift from year to year, as the harvest season will start earlier or later, depending on the weather from year to year. However, especially in recent decades of revival and reconstruction of the ancient ways, it is often celebrated on August 1st (February 1st in the Southern hemisphere), or the closest full moon, just for convenience.

It is worth noting that this date is also the date of the Christian celebration of Lammas, it is not the same thing. Some neopagans and neopagan groups use the name Lammas for the celebration, which is fine (I’m not going to tell others how to practice, that is energy I do not have lol), but there are also others who want to avoid using names of Christian things for pagan holidays, as that has the potential to cause some weirdness with certain religious upbringings and it’s just easier to not.

Good seasonal celebration foods include things like seasonal breads, corn, apple based foods (though those may be better for the equinox proper, when the apples are a bit more ripe), things like that.

As we slowly approach the equinox in Canada now, things are starting (keyword there) to cool down, which is thoroughly appreciated. It has been 30° consistently and I’m not happy about it. The Equinox will be happily welcomed, and likely well celebrated.