In your diary – August

1, Lughnasadh, Wicca and Pagan 

Lughnasadh (pronounced ‘loo nah sod’) is a harvest festival traditionally celebrated by the Gaelic Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and originally marked the beginning of autumn. It is the first of three harvest festivals and focuses on gratitude for the bounty of grain. For this reason, celebrations involved fresh bread and corn dollies – small figurines made from sheafs of grain.

16, Onam, Hindu

Onam is another harvest festival, mainly taking place in the southern Indian state of Kerala, and in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Celebrated over ten days, it is the state festival for Kerala and marks the new year there. The biggest celebration of Onam is held on the last day, called Thiruvonam. People decorate with pookalams, mats made from flowers, and special boat races are held, as well as choreographed martial art displays and dancing.

August’s dates at a glance

Religious/cultural

1 –         Lammas, Christian
1 –         Lughnasadh, Wicca and Pagan
1 –         Fast in Honour of the Holy Mother of the Lord Jesus begins, Orthodox Christian
4 –        Arba’een, Islam
6 –        Feast of Transfiguration, Catholic Christian
6 –        Transfiguration of the Lord, Orthodox Christian
7 –         Guru Har Krishan Jayanti, Sikh
8 –         Rohini Vrat, Jain
8-17 –    Muktad (Fravardeghan Days), Zoroastrian
10 –       Feast of Saint Lawrence, Christian
13-15 –  Obon, Buddhist and Shinto
15 –       Assumption of Mary, Catholic Christian
15 –       Dormition of the Theotokos, Orthodox Christian
16 –       Onam begins, Hindu
22 –       Feast of the Queenship of Mary, Catholic Christian
24 –       Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, Christian
26 –       Mawlid Al-Nabi, Islam
27 –       Ullambana (Hungry Ghost Festival), Buddhist
28 –       Raksha Bandhan, Hindu
28 –       Dormition of the Mother of God, Orthodox Christian
29 –       Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Christian

Awareness and Events

9 –         International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
19 –       World Humanitarian Day
22 –       International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
23 –       International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition