A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world.
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Harvests festivals typically feature feasting, both family & public
with foods that are drawn from crops that come to maturity around
around the time of the festival. Ample food and freedom from
the necessity to work in the fields are two central features of
harvest festivals: eating, merriment, contests, music and romance
are common features of harvest festivals around the world.
In North America, Canada and the US each have their own
Thanksgiving celebrations in October and November. Certain
religious holidays, such as Sukkot, have their roots in harvest
festivals.
In Britain, thanks have been given for successful harvests since
pagan times. Harvest festival is traditionally held on the Sunday
near or of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs
closest to the autumn equinox (about Sept. 23). In two years out
of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some
years it occurs in October. The celebrations on this day usually include singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival, Harvest Home or Harvest Thanksgiving.
In British, and English Caribbean churches, chapels and schools and some Canadian churches, people bring in produce from the garden, the allotment or farm. The food is often distributed among the poor and senior citizens of the local community, or used to raise funds for the church, or charity.
In the USA, many churches also bring in food from the garden or farm in order to celebrate the harvest. The festival is set for a specific day and has become a national holiday known as Thanksgiving which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. In both Canada and the USA it has also become a national secular holiday with religious origins, but in Britain it is both a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest, and a more secular festival remembered in schools.
Offerings during a harvest festival at the Native Polish Church (2007)
In Asia, the Chinese Moon Festival (中秋節) is one of the most widely spread harvest festivals in the world. In India, Makara Sankranti, Thai Pongal, Uttarayana, Lohri, and Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu in January, Holi in February-March and Onam in August-September are a few famous harvest festivals.
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List of Harvest Festivals around the world
• Chuseok: Korea
• Crop Over: Barbados
• Dongmaeng: Korea
• Niiname-sai, Shinjo-sai: Japan
• Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia Argentina
• Mehregan (October 2): Iran, Ancient Persia
• Mid-Autumn Festival: China, Vietnam
• Makar_Sankranti: north India
• Onam :kerela(south India)
• Pongal :Tamilnadu (south India)
• Puthari/Huthari :Coorg,Karnataka(south india)
• Annual Harvest Festival of Prosser, Washington, celebrated on the 4th full weekend in September
• Solung: falls between June and July for nine days. The Adi (also Abor) is a major collective tribe living in the Himalayan hills of Arunachal Pradesh
• Sukkot: Jewish harvest festival lasting eight days in the fall, in which time is spent in tabernacles or booths
• Hasyl toýy:Turkmenistan - the holiday on the last Sunday in November.
• Ikore: celebrated by the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria
• Khuado Pawi: celebrated by the Chin tribe of India, Burma and recently in the USA and many other parts of the world.
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