Lughnasadh/Lammas in Appalachia: Historic grist mill, shopping for Halloween, farmers market feast

I’m author Gwen Alyce Clayton. In my Rivervine Trilogy novels, I talk about the four pre-Christian Celtic holidays that occur at the crossquarters of the seasons.

The event between the summer solstice and autumn equinox is called Lughnasadh, named after the Irish god, Lugh. He was a mighty warrior who was very wise, and famous for his long arm from which he through his magic spear.

It is also a celebration of the first harvest of the year. The guest stars are grains, berries, honey, and whatever else is in season in your neck of the woods.

When the Celtic lands became Christianized, the holiday was renamed Lammas, the Old English word meaning “Loaf Mass,” and was a time to bless the first loaves of bread of the season.

The holiday is still celebrated by Wiccans, Druids and other neo-Pagans.

The actual cross quarter takes place on August 6 this year, but because most celebrants use the Gregorian calendar, for the sake of convenience, they plan their festivities around August 1, or the weekend closest to it.

In today’s episode of the Rivervine YouTube channel, we’re taking a field trip to West Virginia to visit the Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park. We’ll also be doing a local, small shopping haul at the Tamarack Visitors Center, and enjoying a fabulous lunch at Briergarten Beer Garden where we pick up a pretzel loaf for the Lughnasadh feast that we’ll make here at home.

Links
Lugh from World History Encyclopedia https://www.worldhistory.org/Lugh/
Lammas https://nationaltoday.com/lammas-day/
Babcock State Park https://wvstateparks.com/park/babcock...
Tamarack Marketplace https://www.tamarackwv.com/
Fiestaware https://fiestafactorydirect.com/
Batton Hollow Winery http://www.battonhollowwinery.com/
Briergarten https://www.briergarten.com/
Boyd County Farmers Market https://boyd.ca.uky.edu/content/farme...
Stonebrook Winery https://stonebrookwinery.com/
Gwen Alyce Clayton website https://gwenclaytonwrites.com
Music: “Rivervine Overture” by David Goeglein. Copyright 2020. Used by permission, exclusively for Gwen Alyce Clayton/Rivervine LLC. To learn more about Goeglein’s music, visit the Guitar Angel Bandcamp page https://guitar-angel.bandcamp.com