This last week we celebrated Lughnasadh, named for the God Lugh from the Celtic pantheon. I have always found the story of how the holiday came to be quite interesting and fitting as a model, and example by which to live.
For those who do not know the story, Lugh was the champion of his people, much beloved and they decided to honor him at the harvest festival by naming it for him. He was told this and he replied, “No, do not honor me. If you wish to celebrate what I have done and what I mean to you then honor my mother, Tailtiu.” This was of course first very humble. But the other thing that always stood out to me was that Tailtiu was his foster mother. He did not name Eithne his birth mother, he did not name his father, or his tutors, but he named his foster mother and did not call her foster. The Gaelic word used was “Máthair” which is the affectionate version of the word mother, instead of “Diahal” the formal form of the word mother.
Fostering children was not entirely uncommon in the ancient Celtic world. But by his choice of words he was expressing deep affection and respect for all that his mother Tailtiu had done for him. He was honoring her sacrifices, and how she had cared for him as if she was her own son. There are a number of reasons why it is apt to remember Tailtiu at the harvest, especially for those who follow the Celtic pantheon. But the message I took from this story was one of building family where you find it. Lugh had found family with the Queen of his people’s former enemy. He found love in an unusual place because his mother taught him to love the people he surrounded himself with.
For many of us today we have had to cut ties with family members, or we find out faith puts as at odds with them at times, or maybe they live far away. So at Covenant of the River we have always striven to create a comfortable place to be, and as we build bonds of friendship we form our own family of choice. I am reminded of that at Lughnasadh, and I am so grateful for each of you who have bolstered and supported each other through the years. I love my family of choice.
Among our folk there is love enough to go around. A heart that heals and a hand that lifts. May the blessing of the season be manifest through out the year for all the folk.
Blessings! – Jordan