As the seasons change from summer to autumn, school systems and communities begin to plan for the annual fall or harvest festival. Thanksgiving, one of the most well-known holidays in the United States, is really nothing more than a harvest festival. The harvest festival, celebrated throughout the world, was used as a means to give thanks for an abundant harvest and a way to share the bounty with those less fortunate.
The harvest festival has an interesting history. Festivals around the time of the harvest are found in ancient Egyptian, ancient Chinese, and ancient Greek texts, as well as descriptions of the Jewish harvest festival found in the Bible. These festivals were celebrated at different times of the year, however, because the harvest season was not the same everywhere.
One of the main components of any harvest festival is food. Since food was planted only once a year, it was harvested once a year, as well. Therefore, the food was planted in enough quantity to be able to last for a whole year. If there was extra food, it was either given to those less fortunate or sold to help purchase other needed items. As food became more plentiful, however, other components were added to the harvest festival.
If you visited a number of harvest festivals at local schools, each one would be different, much like for each community. At some you may find a carnival atmosphere with games and fun activities. Yet another school might try to keep things more traditional by focusing more on locally grown produce or items provided by their 4-H or FFA clubs. In either case, there’s sure to be fun and a great opportunity to interact with people from the community.
In churches and communities around the US, harvest festivals are planned toward the end of October to kick off the holiday season. Many harvest festivals will have crafts fairs. There will usually be farmers at the festivals trying to sell their harvest goods including gourds, apples, and pumpkins. You might even be lucky enough to find local honey too.
Harvest festivals, while they have been around for hundreds of years, have changed over time. They used to be strictly as a means to say thank you for a good harvest and to help your neighbor. Now, however, they’re more about fun and selling handcrafted items. The fruits of the harvest can still be seen, but they aren’t the main attraction any longer. With the change in emphasis, it seems each year there are fewer harvest festivals at local schools and in the communities. If you search carefully, you should still be able to find a few. Enjoy the festivities and the opportunity to mingle with your neighbors. It is the neighbor, after all that helped harvest the crops in times past. Take the time to reconnect with your neighbors and enjoy the bounty of harvest.
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