| Lammas Loaf Mass Day | |
|---|---|
 Aloaf of bread | |
| Observed by | Christians (Catholics,Lutherans,Anglicans)[1] |
| Type | Christian |
| Celebrations | Mass,church processions,First Fruits[1] |
| Observances | Bringing a loaf of bread made from the new wheat crop to the church for a blessing, making loaves from the grain collected at harvest[2][1] |
| Date | 1 August |
| Related to | Plough Sunday,Rogation days,Shavuot,Lughnasadh |
Lammas (fromOld Englishhlāfmæsse, "loaf-mass"), also known asLoaf Mass Day, is a Christianholiday celebrated in someEnglish-speaking countriesin theNorthern Hemisphere[citation needed] on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in reference to bread and "Mass" in reference to theEucharist.[3] It is afestival in theliturgical calendar to mark the blessing of theFirst Fruits of harvest, with a loaf of bread being brought to thechurch for this purpose.[2]Lammastide falls at the halfway point between thesummer solstice and theautumn equinox.[4][5] Christians also havechurch processions to bakeries, where those working therein are blessed by Christian clergy.[6]
While Lammas is traditionally a Christian holy day, someneopagans have adopted the name and date for one of their harvest festivals in theirWheel of the Year. It is also the same date as theGaelic harvest festivalLughnasadh.[7]
The name 'Lammas' comes fromOld Englishhlafmæsse meaning "loafmass".[8]
Several antiquarians suggested that the name 'Lammas' came from 'lamb mass'.John Brady[9] supposed that tenants of the Cathedral of York, dedicated to St Peter in Chains, of which this is the feast, were required to bring a live lamb to the church.[10]
Another name for the feast in the Middle Ages was the 'Gule of August'.[11] It has been suggested, following the 18th-century Welsh clerical antiquaryJohn Pettingall,[12] that this is ananglicisation ofGŵyl Awst,Welsh for "feast of August".[8]
In Christianity, the offering offirst fruits to God has a history, as in theOld Testament, "when the harvest ripened the priest went into the field and gathered a sheaf of first-ripened grain. Then he took that sheaf into the temple and waved it before the Lord."[13] TheDidache of the early Church enjoined firstfruits be given of "money, clothes, and all of your possessions" (13:7).[14]
InAnglo-Saxon England Lammas was the name for the first day of August and was described inOld English literature as "the feast offirst fruits", being mentioned often in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle.[8] It was probably the day when loaves baked from the first of the wheat harvest were blessed at church.[8] The loaves might then have been used inprotective rituals:[15] a book of Anglo-Saxoncharms directed that the Lammas loaf be broken into four parts, which were to be placed at the four corners of the barn, to protect the grain.[8]
For manyvilleins, the wheat must have run low in the days before Lammas, and the new harvest began a season of plenty, of hard work and company in the fields, reaping in teams.[15] In the medieval agricultural year, Lammas also marked the end of thehay harvest that had begun afterMidsummer. At the end of hay-making a sheep would be loosed in the meadow among the mowers, for him to keep who could catch it.[15]
HistorianRonald Hutton writes "the time that the first of the harvest could be gathered would have been a natural point for celebration in an agrarian society".[8] He says it is likely "that apre-Christian festival had existed among the Anglo-Saxons on that date".[8] FolkloristMáire MacNeill linked Lammas with the Insular Celtic harvest festivalLughnasadh, held on the same date, and suggested the Anglo-Saxons adopted it from theCeltic Britons.[8] She highlighted the apparent lack of a Continental Germanic festival on 1 August, and the apparent borrowing of the Welsh nameGŵyl Awst, 'Gule of August'.[8] However, Hutton says that "MacNeill's thesis of a pan-Celtic seasonal ritual, like her reconstruction of pagan rites, is so far un-proven" and to prove it "would involve a detailed knowledge of the religious calendar of the Anglo-Saxons before they arrived in England, which is impossible".[8]
Lammas Day was one of the traditionalScottish quarter days before 1886. Lammas also coincided with the feast ofSt Peter in Chains, commemorating Saint Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison, but in the liturgical reform of 1969 the feast of StAlphonsus Liguori was transferred to this day.[4]
Ann Lewin explains the Christian feast of Lammas (Loaf Mass Day) and its importance in theliturgical year:[1]
August begins with Lammas Day, Loaf Mass Day, the day in theBook of Common Prayer calendar when a loaf baked with flour from newly harvested corn would be brought into church and blessed. It's one of the oldest points of contact between the agricultural world and the Church. The others werePlough Sunday in early January, the Sunday after Epiphany and the day before work would begin again in the fields after Christmas festivities, when ploughs would be brought to church to be blessed; andRogation days in May, the days before Ascension Day, when God's blessing would be sought on the growing crops.[1]
Today, in theChurch of England, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, during the celebration ofHoly Communion, "The Lammas loaf, or part of it, may be used as the bread of the Eucharist, or the Lammas loaf and the eucharistic bread may be kept separate."[16]Common Worship specifies:[17]
The Lammas loaf should ideally be baked by members of the congregation, using local produce wherever possible. Other small loaves or buns, in the tradition of 'blessed bread,' may be distributed to the congregation. Part of the Lammas loaf may be used as the eucharistic bread on this occasion. Two patterns of readings are suggested, the first concerning the offering of the first-fruits and the second concerning the bread of life.[17]
Christians also havechurch processions to bakeries, where those working therein are blessed by Christian clergy.[6]
InShakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet (1.3.19) it is observed of Juliet, "Come Lammas Eve at night shall she [Juliet] be fourteen." Another well-known cultural reference is the opening ofThe Battle of Otterburn: "It fell about the Lammas tide when the muir-men win their hay."[18]
Someneopagans have adopted the name and date of Lammas, making it one of the harvest festivals in theirWheel of the Year. Other neopagans use the Gaelic nameLughnasa. It is the first of the three autumn festivals, the others being theautumn equinox andSamhain. In the Northern Hemisphere it takes place around 1 August, while in the Southern Hemisphere it is celebrated around 1 February.[19][20][page needed][21][22][page needed]
Lammas leaves orLammas growth refers to a second crop of leaves produced in high summer by some species of trees intemperate countries to replace those lost to insect damage.[23] They often differ slightly in shape, texture and/or hairiness from the earlier leaves.[24]
Exeter inDevon is one of the few towns in England that still celebrates its Lammas Fair and has a processional custom which stretches back over 900 years, led by the Lord Mayor. During the fair a white glove on a pole decorated with garlands is raised above theGuildhall. The fair now takes place on the first Thursday in July.[25]
Alow-impact development project atTir y Gafel, Glandwr, Pembrokeshire,[26]Lammas Ecovillage, is a collective initiative for nine self-built homes.[27] It was the first such project to obtain planning permission based on a predecessor of what is now the sixth national planning guidance[28] for sustainable rural communities originally proposed by the One Planet Council.[29]
August begins with Lammas Day, Loaf Mass Day, the day in the Book of Common Prayer calendar when a loaf baked with flour from newly harvested corn would be brought into church and blessed. It's one of the oldest points of contact between the agricultural world and the Church. The others were Plough Sunday in early January, the Sunday after Epiphany and the day before work would begin again in the fields after Christmas festivities, when ploughs would be brought to church to be blessed; and Rogation days in May, the days before Ascension Day, when God's blessing would be sought on the growing crops.
Lammas or Lammas Day (August 1st) means the loaf-mass day. The day of first fruit offerings, when a loaf was given to the priests in lieu of the first-fruits.
Thus Christ-Mass implies that season when the incarnation and birth of Christ, are commemorated in the Mass. In the same manner are formed Candle-Mass, Michaelmas, Lammas, &c. Lammas-day for instance, which falls on the 1st of August, is derived from the Saxon word Laf, a Loaf and Mæse, or Mass: It having been customary on that day to make an offering to the Church, of a loaf made of new corn.
Lammas Day. In the Romish Church this day is known as the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (St. Peter in the fetters), being the day on which the Apostle's imprisonment is commemorated... Lammas is a corruption ofhlaf-masse,*the loaf-mass. In the Early English Church it was customary on this day to offer an oblation of loaves made of new wheat, as the first-fruits of the harvest. In the Sarum Manual it is calledBenedictio novorum fructuum.
Lammas means "Loaf Mass" which used to celebrate the first bread baked from the new crop of grain which began to be harvested at Lammas-tide. Processions to bakeries would take place and those working there would be blessed. Our ancestors, with their celebration of the new bread, recognised the significance of Jesus being the bread of life.
For Christians, Lammas has been a time for blessing loaves made of fresh wheat. In time, Christians also created a version of the Scottish Highland Quarter Cake for Lammas, which bore Christian symbols on the top. (Catholic Culture has a recipe.) In the Neopagan and Wiccan faiths, Lughnasadh is one of eight sabbaths and is the first of three harvest festivals.
 English festivals and fairs | |
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| English festivals | |
| Fairs and others | |
