Re: REF:lammis

[Kathryn Frech <lib@STNY.RR.COM>]

On 2 Dec 99, at 10:28, Jeannie Winters <wintersj@TEN-NASH.TEN.K12.TN.US> wrote:

>
> Does anyone know what "lammis" means?  In _A Day No Pigs Would Die_, a
> lammis table is mentioned.  A teacher was wanting to know what lammis
> meant.  I can't find the word anyhere!
>

If the word is 'lammas' or 'Lammas' rather than 'lammis'; it's
an old European holiday, sometimes also called Lughnassadh.
The "loaf-mass" was celebrated on August 1st, honoring the
beginning of the harvest season.

The Red Letter Day Calendar says the following about Lammas
at (http://www.almanac.com/redletter.0899/rl1.html) :

> August 1 - Lammas Day. From the Old English hlaf, "loaf," and
> maesse, "mass" or "feast," Lammas is very old indeed. It
> derives from the ancient English festival the Gule of August,
> which marked the beginning of the harvest, traditionally August
> 1. The early English church kept this pagan dedication of the
> first fruits but converted it to Christian usage. Through the
> centuries, "loaf-mass" became corrupted in spelling and
> pronunciation to Lammas. On Lammas Day, loaves of bread
> were baked from the first-ripened grain and brought to the
> churches to be consecrated. To the Celts, this was
> Lughnasaid, the feast of the wedding of the Sun god and the
> Earth goddess, and also a harvest festival. In Ireland, baskets
> of blueberries are still offered to a sweetheart in
> commemoration of the original fertility festival. In Scotland,
> the Lammastide fairs became famous for trial marriages that
> could be ended without question after a year.

--
Kathryn Frech, Librarian
Seton Catholic Central H.S.
Binghamton, NY  USA
(lib@stny.rr.com)

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