It is pronounced Loo-nass-ah. It has also been spelled Lughnasad or Llugnasa.

It is the feast of August, the third festival of summer. It is the celebration of the first harvest of our local grain, usually without wheat or barley. By the calendar, it falls on August 1, but some celebrate it on the full moon of Leo as it passes through Aquarius. It is always the celebration of the first fruits of the harvest.

Rites associated with lughnasadh include fairs, making straw figures, decorating walls, horse races and other games.
Legal disputes are made settled and marriages are made.

The season of growth has ended as one enters the season of reaping. The power of the sun has been given into the crop and the summer is waning.

The festival is both, a celebration of what one has sown and nurtured, and an acknowledgement of its dying as it dries in the heat of summer.

The hard work of harvesting lies upon the harvesters shoulders. Together people share the joys of their harvest, bringing crafts and stories, music and food.