Abstract
ADDENDA. August 5. LAMMAS SUNDAY. GAELAND SUNDAY.—In Ireland this is a survival of a pagan festival in honour of the earth about to yield up its fruits. The farmer feeds his family on the first fruits. No potatoes may be dug before this day and no flower or fruit placed on the altar. The day was also devoted to solemn rites in honour of the dead. A garland was decorated the night before with coloured ribbons. Early in the morning maidens gathered flowers to decorate the garland, but no married woman might either gather flowers or touch the garland lest it should wither and bring ill luck. The procession to the churchyard was headed by the finest young man of the village, who bore the garland. If any of the apples which hung on the garland fell while they were on the way to the churchyard, it portended prosperity and long life for the bearer. But if an apple fell after the garland had been hung up in or near the churchyard it brought bad luck to all who were dancing at the time.
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Calendar of Customs and Festivals. Nature 122, 260 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/122260a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/122260a0