Lammas Day & Ukraine's Harvest

 Yesterday, August 1st, was Lammas Day, a harvest day with a religious connection which doesn't mean much to most of us. Honestly, while some Christian traditions have a host of feast and holy days, United Church folk often find it a challenge to remember Sundays. Lammas Day is not to be confused with Llama Day, which apparently occurs in December. I have never observed either festival in any meaningful way. 

Lammas Day is a derivation of Loaf Mass Day, which, as the name suggests, celebrates the first of the grain harvest and the making of bread, which is sometimes referrred to as the Staff of Life. Without bread in its many wonderful forms communities would starve and it couldn't be taken for granted. Not surprising then that it took on a sacred quality. Of course, Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life (John 6) and one of our Christian sacraments, the eucharist or holy communion, involves a form of bread and includes that phrase. 

Lammas happened to be the day when the first grain shipment sailed out of Odessa, Ukraine, a hugely important development in the midst of the terrible Russian war of agression. Wheat is one of the principle crops for Ukraine and the country is sometimes referred to as the Breadbasket of the World, although several regions of the planet lay claim to this title, including Canada's prairie provinces. Perhaps this is why so many Ukrainians emigrated to Canada in earlier times and there is such a large diaspora out West. 

For a century Russia has used and abused the grain harvest of Ukraine as a form of coercion and even genocide. The forced starvation of millions in Ukraine 90 years ago called the Holomador killed millions. Not only are Ukrainian farmers hard-pressed to grow a crop this year in the midst of war, Russia has stolen stored grain from last year and is impeding the export from ports such as Odessa. A number of African nations depend on Ukrainian grain and are deeply concerned about the implications of a Russian naval embargo of shipments. The Economist magazine ran a chilling cover with an image of grain stalks made up of tiny skulls to accompany the headline, The Coming Food Disaster. 

Even if we don't know a Lammas from a llama we can pray for beleagured Ukraine, for all those who are involved in agriculture under such difficult conditions, and for the safety of the ports and ships from which the grain will leave for distant lands. 

                                                   August 1st Grain Shipment from Odessa, Ukraine