Raven ventures.....

Raven is 15 years old and has a passion for fashion, modeling, make up, interior design and "pretty things".  An adventurous spirit, I will be featuring her in upcoming articles!

The Celtic Harvest Festival - Lughnasadh

The Celtic harvest festival on August 1st takes its name from the Irish god Lugh, one of the chief gods of the Tuatha De Danann, giving us Lughnasadh in Ireland, Lunasdál in Scotland, and Laa Luanys in the Isle of Man. (In Wales, this time is known simply as Gwl Awst, the August Feast.) Lugh dedicated this festival to his foster-mother, Tailtiu, the last queen of the Fir Bolg, who died from exhaustion after clearing a great forest so that the land could be cultivated. When the men of Ireland gathered at her death-bed, she told them to hold funeral games in her honor. As long as they were held, she prophesied Ireland would not be without song. Tailtiu's name is from Old Celtic Talantiu, "The Great One of the Earth," suggesting she may originally have been a personification of the land itself, like so many Irish goddesses. In fact, Lughnasadh has an older name, Brón Trogain, which refers to the painful labor of childbirth. For at this time of year, the earth gives birth to her first fruits so that her children might live. Tailtiu gives her name to Teltown in County Meath, where the festival was traditionally held in early Ireland. It evolved into a great tribal assembly, attended by the High King, where legal agreements were made, political problems discussed, and huge sporting contests were held on the scale of an early Olympic Games. Artists and entertainers displayed their talents, traders came from far and wide to sell food, farm animals, fine crafts and clothing, and there was much storytelling, music, and high-spirited revelry, according to a medieval eye-witness account:" Trumpets, harps, hollow-throated horns, pipers, timpanists, unwearied…fiddlers, gleemen, bone-players and bag-pipers, a rude crowd, noisy, profane, roaring and shouting. "This was also an occasion for hand fasting, or trial marriages. Young men and women lined up on either side of a wooden gate in a high wall, in which a hole was carved, large enough for a hand. One by one, girl and boy would grasp a hand in the hole, without being able to see who was on the other side. They were now married, and could live together for year and day to see if it worked out. If not, the couple returned to next year's gathering and officially separated by standing back to back and walking away from each other. Throughout the centuries, the grandeur of Teltown dwindled away, but all over Ireland, right up to the middle of this century, country-people have celebrated the harvest at revels, wakes, and fairs – and some still continue today in the liveliest manner. It was usually celebrated on the nearest Sunday to August 1st, so that a whole day could be set aside from work. In later times, the festival of Lughnasadh was christianized as Lammas, from the Anglo-Saxon, half-mas, "Loaf-Mass," but in rural areas, it was often remembered as "Bilberry Sunday, " for this was the day to climb the nearest "Lughnasadh Hill" and gather the earth's freely-given gifts of the little black berries, which they might wear as special garlands or gather in baskets to take home for jam. As of old, people sang and danced jigs and reels to the music of melodeons, fiddles and flutes, and held uproarious sporting contests and races. In some places, a woman—or an effigy of one—was crowned with summer flowers and seated on a throne, with garlands strewn at her feet. Dancers whirled around her, touching her garlands or pulling off a ribbon for good luck. In this way, perhaps, the ancient goddess of the harvest was still remembered with honor.                                                                          

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Ahhh.....the Monks and their divine fudge!

The Brigittine Monks Gourmet Confections is giving a 10% discount to our special online customers from January 26 to February 28. Go to our website www.brigittine.org and enter the code VAL10 in the Discount Code field on the check out page and click on the Discount Code button next to it to get an automatic 10% off from your order of fudge and truffles.Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Give that someone special a Heavenly treat this Valentine's Day.We are now introducing our newest gourmet fudge Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge for the price of $9.95 per pound (no code required). It will normally sell for $12.95 per pound. This special will run until the end of March.We are now offering the flat rate postage of $4.95 for all single items sent by US Mail to addresses within the United States. Order of Two items or more going to one address will be shipped via UPS at their current rates.Please watch for our monthly specials.Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORTGod bless you!The Brigittine MonksPlease note: if our website does not give you the advertised discounts, we will automatically give them to you, or if you wish to place your order by phone we will honor these offers. 503-835-8080 ext 1WE DO NOT SELL OR RENT OUR MAILING LIST .