Lammas or Lughnasadh: making the most of this moment

Lammas (or Lughnasadh) marks a soft transition from the sun’s full strength turning the grass golden brown and blissfully long days to a languid descent into cosy jumpers and soup for lunch. For many of us, we spend August preparing for the start of the next school year, the next season of nature and maybe our lives, too. Traditionally, bread was baked as an appreciation of the summer harvests and made as offerings both to the community and the sun God, Lugh. 

Nowadays, the allure of attempting to turn your sourdough starter into a woven masterpiece inspired by The Great British Bake Off still strikes as the days cool off. It is tempting to sit by a bonfire to try to prolong the day’s warmth as the evening seeps in and we try to make the most of what’s left of summer. This is within our power in small and simple ways, as it has been noted in folk rituals for this time of year. There is a clear reason why Lughnasadh is a fire festival. Just be careful if you’re making your own fires as the ground is extremely dry and what little rain falls evaporates quickly. 

Living in the moment is a time-tested way of not only appreciating what we have while we have it, but of slowing the feeling of time passing. Turn off your screens, try something novel or simply take yourself into nature and admire the world moving around you. Most importantly, while this is a time of harvest and preparation for winter, do not wish the time away in anticipation for what is to come. There is a beautiful balance to both appreciating what you have now and preparing for what lies ahead. The media you consume might be shoving cosy autumn content down your throat but summer doesn’t just halt in its tracks. The seasons flow into one another like a stream meeting a river, which in turn gushes to the sea. 

Some people consider August to be the beginning of Autumn, while others deem it the last of the summer months. The beauty of August lies in its position straddling both seasons. While we soak up the last of the summer sun, we can use this time to prepare for worse weather like foraging berries to turn into conserves or drying herbs in the heat. As Bridget McNulty advises in her new book Daily Glimmers, we can write a list of all the things that bring us joy so that on harder days we have a resource to get us through. We can plan surprises for our future selves or simply sit back and appreciate the fruits of our labours (quite literally!). 

August is also a time for refreshing and reevaluating. We can harvest our crops, save seeds, dry herbs, cut back weeds and clean up the earth to start again in September. We can tidy our spaces, our finances, our thoughts. Kimberley Gallagher’s The Calm and Happy Home is a great place to start if you want to revamp the energy in your dwellings. 

This is a great time of year to reflect on the nature of change, how far you’ve come this year and how you want to make the most of the remaining months. Because it’s not too late to achieve your ambitions. You still have a solid 5 months left of 2025. Don’t just wish it away. Set new goals, reevaluate if your year isn’t looking how you thought it would. If you’re feeling burnt out, use this as a sign to make new promises to yourself to prioritise health and wellbeing first.

Lammas is a festival of fire and the perfect opportunity to rekindle your inner flame, fuelled by happy memories of summer. Try something new, experiment a little, feel the fear and do it anyway, make a big change, get that haircut, let your worries go into the flames. Use that energy to propel you into a new season of uncertainty with courage.