CELEBRATING THE HARVEST
Around the world, crops are grown for food, and harvest is a time for
celebrating a successful crop. Read about how harvest is celebrated in different
cultures, then try these tasty recipes.
Harvest festivals in the UK usually fall in September to
coincide with the grain or cereal crop harvest. In Saxon times, the first sheaf
of corn was offered to the Gods to ensure a good harvest in the future. The last
sheaf was said to contain the spirit of the harvest and would be ceremonially
brought from the fields by a specially decorated horse and cart.
Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday commemorating
the meal the Pilgrim Fathers shared with Native Americans to celebrate the first
successful harvest after their arrival in America. A thanksgiving meal often
reflects what the Wampanoag Indians brought to the meal in 1621: wild turkeys,
squash, cornbread and berries.
Jewish people celebrate the harvest with an eight-day festival called
Sukkoth. Families or local communities build temporary huts similar to
the ones that Moses and the Israelites lived in. Inside the huts are fruits and
vegetables and families eat their meals in here for the first two days of the
festival.
The Chinese celebrate Zhong Qiu Jie – the harvest moon. The
traditional foods for this festival are red in colour and include lobster,
salmon, red apples and pomegranate. Red represents good luck in the Chinese
culture.
Diwali is an Indian celebration followed by Hindus, Sikhs
and Jains. It falls in October or November. It is a celebration of both the New
Year and the harvest, and is also known as the festival of lights. The word
Diwali comes from the Sanskrit ‘dipavali’ which means ‘row of little lights’. It
is believed that Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, needs light to guide
her to people’s homes to give good fortune and wealth. Oil lamps, called diwas,
are lit and placed around the open doors and windows of houses.
