Anser anser - There are two trains of thought as to the origins of the name. The first is thought to be because the greylag 'lagged behind' when migratory geese took off for other breeding grounds. It was also so called because it was a bird which grazed the fields or 'leas'; 'lea goose', turning with usage into 'lag goose'.
Geese had a special magico-religous significance in a large number of the earliest cultures. The two strongest themes, solar symbolism and fertility, are traceable back at least to the land of summer (fertility)and ancient Egypt (sun symbolism), the latter from the birds' very high flight.
There is also a belief which says that from the formation in which the geese fly the number of weeks of frost to come can be deduced. In the celtic areas, the goose was a taboo creature, kept in enclosures for the purpose of sacrifice, but never eaten. In other parts, the killing and eating of the goose was an important part of certain festivities. There is a saying 'If you eat goose at Michaelmus, you will not want for money all year round'.
Over recent years there has been an increasing conflict between crofting communities and goose populations in the Western Isles. There are now an increasing number of Greylag Geese that reside on the islands all year round and successfully breed. Unfortunately as the bird population grows it puts a greater pressure on the land, the populations do not compare with the huge numbers wintering on the mainland but in a crofting context the damage can be significant.
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