Let's Celebrate Wheat and Honey!

Lammas is a special festival celebrating wheat and honey, two of my favorite things. It commemorates the first-fruits of the harvest between the first of August and the first of September. The festival of Lammas is celebrated with gusto by the Guild of Saint Michael at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. 

Hearty loaves of bread were served at lunch from the military encampment's hearth. The perfect companions to the bread were sweet, golden honey, and tankards of ale (which was actually apple juice and honey, described as "addictive as crack" by one young enthusiast). The children's collection of toys includes corn dollies this time of year.

From The White Goddess, we learn "Lammas is a festival celebrating the first fruits of harvest, the fruits of our labours, and seeing the desires that we had at the start of the year unfold so rituals will be centered around this." The festival also recognizes that soon the hot days of summer will end. (Glory be. Hallelujah.)

Just seeing the stalks of wheat tucked into headbands, and made into garlands, made me reflect on the coming of autumn. This morning I began to think about the desires I had at the beginning of the year.

My word for 2017 is CONNECTION, and what a year of connections it has been. From getting to renew our friendships at the Bristol Ren Faire now that the season is well underway, to enjoying the wonderful young families who are our neighbors, to deepening a close friendship with a nearby friend, to getting to know our extended family in Illinois better, to adding to members to our family in the way of two puppies, to maintaining relationships with my children and family members far away, this has already been a remarkable year of connection. 

The Lammas Day at faire was extra-special spending the day with Chuck and Bridger.

Festivals of celebration are fun, and become especially meaningful when we take the time to think about their origins and significance. This morning has been a quiet time for me to ponder my connections that have made this year so special.

What desires did you have at the beginning of the year? Are you happy with where your desires are taking you? Is there anything you'd like to do differently as our year takes us from summer to fall? 

I have loved getting to know the personalities behind these pretty smiles.

These are some of my favorite photographs from the Bristol Renaissance Faire yesterday.

It has been such a pleasure getting to know this amazing woman who happens to be a wonderful photographer.

A moment between friends.

A very special friend I met at the faire.

What a great surprise; running into these beautiful friends of ours from Saint Charles.

The sun sets on another glorious day of Lammas.