New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
| Lammas Ramadan begins
After the Sun God's triumph at Litha, he begins to wane and transfer all of his strength into the food we will harvest to keep us alive through the winter. This food is gathered in stages, and so the Sun God dies in stages. Ancient people took this very seriously, and no one wanted to be the one to "kill" the God by cutting the last of the harvest. They would take turns throwing scythes at the last standing sheaf of grain so the whole community would share the responsibility. A safe and fun way to incorporate this tradition into your own celebration is to get or make a piñata shaped like the Sun. Fill it with candy or with birdseed, dried corn, and grass seed if you're going to be out in a yard or field. Dance around the piñata to bless it as the image of the Sun God and honor him. Then have everyone in your party take turns whacking, and when your piñata is finally broken, let the bounty of the Sun wash over you. Share a feast of late-summer fruits like tomatoes, peaches, corn, and peppers, and leave some fresh produce as an offering. Holiday lore: Lammas is a bittersweet holiday, mingling joy at the current high season's harvest with the knowledge that summer is soon at an end. Many cultures have "first fruit" rituals on this day-the Celt's version is called Lughnasadh; the Anglo-Saxon version called Half-masse. In the Middle Ages, the holiday settled on August 1, taking its current form for the most part, with sheaves of wheat and corn blessed on this day. |
