Lughnasad

Today is Lughnasad. Need I say more?

Really? Okay, I’ll explain.

The Celts (or Kelts) were an Iron Age people who lived in medieval Europe. They divided the year into 4 quarters defined by the solstices and the equinoxes. The solstices and equinoxes are actually moments in time, but the word also means the day on which that moment occurs.

In case you’ve forgotten your Astronomy 101, a solstice occurs twice a year when the sun reaches its highest (Summer Solstice) or lowest (Winter Solstice) altitude above the horizon at local solar noon (high noon). The Summer Solstice occurs in late June (in the northern hemisphere) and is the first day of summer. The Winter Solstice occurs in late December and is the first day of winter.

An equinox occurs twice a year when the Earth’s axis is not tilted toward or away from the Sun. All points on the Earth’s surface then have the same length day and night. The Vernal Equinox happens in late March and is the first day of spring. The Autumnal Equinox occurs in late September and is the first day of autumn.

The Celts divided the year into four quarters based on these astronomical events, and then they divided each quarter-year in half. There was a good reason for this. Astronomical events like solstices and equinoxes were causes for celebration. If you make twice as many special days, you can have twice as many celebrations. The Celts were big partiers. “Hey, it’s Lughnasad day, somebody build a bonfire! Par-TAY!!!” (Just kidding, Celt fans. Don’t put a spell on me.)

The Celts had names for each of these eight events. For example, their name for the Winter Solstice was Yule. Yule is the only Celtic name that is still commonly used (though now it refers to the Christmas season, which is celebrated at the same time of year that Yule was once celebrated).

Getting to the title of this blog post, today is Lughnasad, the halfway point between Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox. For us, summer is half over. We are halfway to autumn. The days will grow shorter ever faster.

Note that the Celts did not consider Summer Solstice to be the first day of summer. Their name for Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year – translates to “midsummer’s day.” Midsummer’s day marked their halfway point of summer. That makes a lot of sense. Hot weather has already been here a while by the time Summer Solstice arrives. Likewise, the Celts considered Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year – to mark the halfway point of winter, not the beginning of winter.

The Celts are gone, but in a way they’re still around, they just don’t call themselves Celts any longer, and most of them don’t speak a Celtish language. But some of their festivals are still celebrated. Yule is Christmas. Imboic is the feast day of St Brighid. Beltain, the beginning of the Celt’s summer, is May Day. Samhaim, the first day of winter for the Celts, is Halloween. And have you ever wondered why Easter’s symbols are colored eggs and chocolate bunnies? The Celt fertility goddess Ostara was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox with a festival that welcomed the coming of spring and new growth. The symbols for Ostara were an egg and a hare. Because in spring, birds build nests and lay eggs, and rabbits do what rabbits do best.