Explore the mystical world of Celtic mythology with our collection of Lugh, the Shining One coloring pages, featuring the the sun god of the ancient Celts.
Lugh's story starts with a prophecy. His grandfather, Balor of the Evil Eye, was told that his own grandson would be the one to defeat him. So Balor locked his daughter Ethniu in a tower to keep her from ever having children. It didn't work. A man named Cian found his way in, and Lugh was born. Balor wanted the baby gone, but Lugh was rescued and raised by foster parents.
When he was grown, Lugh went to the hall of King Nuada, but the doorkeeper wouldn't let him in unless he had a skill nobody there had. Lugh said he was a carpenter, a blacksmith, a warrior, a harper, a poet and a magician. Each time the doorkeeper said they already had one. Then Lugh asked, "But do you have anyone who can do all of them?" They didn't, and that's how he earned the name Samildánach, "the many-skilled."
Lugh led the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians and the prophecy came true: it was his shot that finished off Balor. He became king afterward, and he started a festival of games in honor of his foster mother, Tailtiu. The old harvest festival of Lughnasadh still carries his name.
You may also see him called Lugh Lámhfhada, "Lugh of the Long Arm," and his name is often linked with light, which is why people call him "the Shining One." He had a famous son too, the hero Cú Chulainn.
