August is here. The first of August, known as Lughnasadh to Pagans, or Lammas to Christians, is traditionally the start of the harvest growing season. This weekend there were a few events to celebrate Lughnasadh in Belfast.
Yesterday, the Feile na Habhann, or Festival of the River took place in Belfast. This was a family friendly event of traditional music, dancing from a variety of different cultures, activities for kids and our little dude’s favourite – the touch tank from Exploris aquarium at Portaferry. The activities took place along the Lagan Walkway in Belfast between Ormeau and Lanyon Place station alongside the River Lagan.
On Saturday we also attended a riverboat handfasting ceremony which celebrated the launch of the Éalú rowboat. Éalú is Irish for ‘elope’ and the handfasting was very romantic. For those folks who don’t know what handfasting means, it is an ancient Celtic ceremony where a rope or ribbon is wrapped around the hands of the couple, binding their union; the couple then let go, pulling the rope/ribbon which ‘ties the knot’. A handfasting ceremony also features in one of my novels: Gods of Avalon Road sees a resurrected Celtic God handfasted to a reincarnated Briton warrior, now in the body of a twenty-first century woman called Kerry. It’s an urban fantasy novel with plenty of pagan debauchery; strictly over 18s only!
Anyway, back to Lughnasadh. It was lovely to see so many positive events taking place in Belfast over the weekend, especially after Saturday being overshadowed by anti-immigration rioting in the city centre and in South Belfast.
In the past two decades, Belfast has transformed into a vibrant, multi-cultural and inclusive city and in my opinion, as a person who is old enough to remember Belfast during the Troubles (yes, I really am that old…) it is now a fabulous place to live, and the diversity enriches it. As a schoolgirl growing up in Belfast, I was the only non-white child in my primary school until my little sister joined. Now, there are different languages on the streets and people from all over the world call Belfast home.
Likewise, in my youth, same-sex couples would not have been able to express their authentic selves in public. Now, Belfast embraces Pride, and each year the parade is larger.
Long may diversity, equality and inclusion continue in Northern Ireland. Happy Lughnasadh, everyone!
Leilanie Stewart 