Legend has it that the first feast was held on the burial mound of Lugh’s foster mother, the queen Tailtiu, who gave her life for the sake of her people after their defeat by a warring tribe. The Romans identified Lugh (the name, pronounced ‘loo’ means ‘light’) with their messenger god, Mercury.

The advent of Christianity saw the festival sanitised and renamed Lammas, or ‘loaf mass’. The powerful pagan symbolism was lost. But new age pagans have revived the mythic significance of a god, also known as the Green or Wicker Man, sacrificing himself each year for the sake of the harvest only to be reborn again with the following year’s crop. Traditionally baking is associated with all harvest celebrations. At a time when most of what we eat is ‘grown’ on supermarket shelves, those who want to get back in touch with the land now bake bread in the shape of a human form – but before eating it they always leave a piece for the gods themselves.

Lughnsasadh is also associated with bringing contracts to a formal conclusion – this coincided in earlier times with the sense of completion as the harvest was gathered in. It also marks the beginning of the end of summer – what we get of it – when some of the hottest days noticeably start to draw in. The remaining Celtic harvest festivals of the year are Mabon on September 21, and Samhain on October 31.

Mark Winter