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Throughout history many cultures have given thanks for a bountiful harvest. They
might differ in their forms and presentations. But their spirit - setting
aside a date to reflect on life's blessings, remains the same. Catch a
glimpse of the spectra of colors and shades that tinge the thankful celebrations
from around the world! As evident from most of the cultures people would associate these with harvest festivals in gratitude of the God who protects them and their crops. Harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese, and the Egyptians all reflect the similar spirit. The Kaleidoscope here depicts the spectra of celebration as practiced by these different cultures. |
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The Egyptians The celebration of the spring-time harvest festival by the ancient Egyptians was dedicated to the honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. Spring being the harvest season of the Egyptian's the festival was held during this season. The festival featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held. Music, dancing, and sports were also part of the celebration. |
 When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they wept and pretended to be grief-stricken. This was to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn. |
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The Romans
The Roman celebration of Cerelia, a harvest festival, was dedicated to the honor of Ceres. Ceres was their goddess of corn (from which the word cereal comes). It was also an autumnal festival held each year on October 4th. Offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were made to Ceres. The celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast. |
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Thanksgiving : In Modern Era Chusok: In Korea, the harvest festival is called Chusok or Chuseok. Chuseok is a major three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar Korean calendar. Also known as the Korean Thanksgiving, Chusok is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, during the harvest season. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors. Thus, Korean families take this time to thank their ancestors for. In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus of Koreans returning to their ancestral hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of one's ancestors providing them with rice and fruits and sharing a feast of Korean traditional food. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. They often visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. One of the major foods prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is Songpyeon, a crescent-shaped rice cake which is steamed upon pine needles. Thanksgiving (USA & Canada): In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 to celebrate a successful harvest in the new land. The celebration was based on harvest traditions that the colonists brought with them from England. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In the modern US, Families get together for a big feast with turkey and grandma's apple pie. Many American families get together to watch football. However, beyond food and football, Thanksgiving is also about friendship and partnership. Pilgrims and Native Americans, who were once enemies, reaped a successful harvest by working together. At the first Thanksgiving, they ate, sang, and danced together for three days. The modern Thanksgiving Day celebrations celebrate nearly the same spirit what with people of different cultures coming to reside in the country and the modern emphasis on national and multicultural integrity and harmony. Canadian Thanksgiving Day: Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks for the things one has at the close of the harvest season. The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving, and the first Thanksgiving to have taken place in North America. In Canada, Thanksgiving is a three-day weekend and celebrated mainly on the second Monday in October. In Canada, Thanksgiving is often celebrated with family. It is also a time for weekend getaways for couples to participate in various outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and hunting. Succoth: In Israel, the harvest festival is called Succoth or Sukkot. The celebration lasts for seven days. Succoth is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (late September to late October). The festival is also known as the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles, as Jewish families build outdoor booths during the Succoth celebration. This festival dates back to the period during which Hebrews wandered in the wilderness on route to Canaan (now Israel). During their pilgrimage, they lived in temporary booths, that is, temporary structures in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. This open living space is called a succah. Thus, Succoth is also called the Feast of Tabernacle. During harvest time, farmers also lived in sukkot in open fields. During Succoth, farmers take this time to thank God for the crops. Today, modern Jewish communities continue the traditions of building sukkot and holding festivities inside them. During Succoth, a special ceremony is held each day to remember Hebrew ancestors and to thank God for the harvest. Families gather in the sukkots(or booths) for meals and sleep inside them as well. In modern day Israel, Sukkot is a 7-day holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals. Outside the land of Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals. The remaining days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah and has a special observance of its own. Click Here for more details... Pongal: Pongal is a popular harvest festival in South India. It is also known as the “Rice Harvest Festival”. Families take this time to thank all those who have contributed to a successful harvest -- including the gods, the sun and the cattle. Named after a sweet rice dish, Pongal starts on January 14 of each year. The celebration lasts for three days. Click Here for more details... Yam: The Yam Festival is usually held in the beginning of August at the end of the rainy season. The celebration starts in the beginning of August at the end of the rainy season. A popular holiday in Ghana and Nigeria, the Yam Festival is named after the most common food that goes by the same name in many African countries. Yams are the first crops to be harvested. People offer yams to gods and ancestors first before distributing them to the villagers. This is their way of giving thanks to the spirits above them. Baisakhi: Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, is a long established harvest festival in Northern India and has religious significance for both Sikhs and Hindus.It falls on the first day of the Vaisakh month in the solar Nanakshahi calendar, which corresponds to April 13 in the Gregorian calendar, except every thirty-sixth year when it falls on April 14. Besides Punjab, Vaisakhi is widely celebrated as a harvest festival in other northern states of India, such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Click Here for more details... Moon Festival: In the Far East, Thanksgiving comes a bit earlier. The Moon Festival also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is a popular East Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or "Mooncake Festival." The Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake(a traditional mooncake is made of a sweet bean-paste filling with golden brown flaky skin.), of which there are many different varieties. In China and Vietnam, the family feast includes mooncakes and round fruits -- symbols of togetherness. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes (held widely as a Chinese grapefruit) together. The other cultural or regional customs accompanying the celebration are such activities as Putting pomelo rinds on one's head,carrying brightly lit lanterns and burning incense in reverence to deities. Click Here for more details... Onam: Onam is a South Indian annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is a popular festival among the cultural repertoire of Malayalees, and falls during the month of Chingam (August/September as per the Gregorian calendar), the first month of the Malayalam calendar. It lasts for ten days. Traditionally celebrated as a harvest festival, mythologically it is linked to Malayalee folktales- mainly with the tale of a certain King Mahabali and the birth of Vamana,an incarnation of God. The Onam festivities have people dressed in their best. People wear new clothes (Vastra) during Onam. The 'Vastra' also stands for heart. Thus the significance of wearing new clothes is to renew the heart by removing from it all bad thoughts and feelings. People forget their sectarian outlooks and join together to welcome the auspicious day of Onam, also called 'Thiruvonam'.The most important things about Onam are the onakkodi, wearing new clothes on this day and onam sadhya, a feast which is quite elaborate. This is usually a feast served on banana leaves and serves rice along with at least an array of 4 dishes. Traditional pickles and papadam are also served . Dessert is usually the traditional and sacramental 'payasam '( a sweet dish made of milk, sugar and other traditional Indian savories). Other activities during Onam include pookkalam(creating multi-coloured floral decorations on the ground in the front of their home called), Vallamkali (the snake boat race- another event that is synonymous with Onam), installation of images of Thrikkakara Appan (Vishnu in the form of Vamana)by Keralite Hindus in front of their home and the like. Although the festival of Onam originated with, and is connected to the Hindu religion, it is celebrated today with equal fervour by people of all religions- the Hindus, Muslims and also the Christians of Kerala. This was a glimpse of the overwhelming unity in the spirit of the thanksgiving celebration in all ancient cultures across the world. Prayer, parade, feast and the fervor are common to most of them, though the mode of celebration differs. In the spirit of thanksgiving, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy a wonderful holiday with your friends and loved ones. Enjoy the flavors of the season and please remember to indulge in some thanksgiving yourself. Give thanks to the season for all that it has given to you and your family. |
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