Top 10 Harvest Festivals
Branches
from the sacred lusekwane tree are woven into a bower for Swaziland’s king
during Incwala, and only when he eats the first fruit can his people partake of
the harvest.
Photograph
by Joyce McClure, My Shot
From the
National Geographic book Sacred Places of a Lifetime
- Thanksgiving, Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts
Thanksgiving, a U.S. holiday on the fourth Thursday of
November, originated in the fall of 1621, when Pilgrims celebrated their
successful wheat crop and overflowing store cupboards with a
three-day feast.
The hosts shared their meal of partridge, wild turkey, and fish with the
Massasoit and Wampanoag Native American tribes. Abraham Lincoln declared
Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.- Vendimia, Mendoza, Argentina
On the final Sunday of February, the Archbishop of
Mendoza sprinkles the season’s first grapes with holy water and offers the new
vintage to God, setting off a month of celebrations in Argentina’s Mendoza region. Crowds line the
streets to watch a parade of competing beauty queens atop their regional
floats, and the festival culminates with a spectacular show at the amphitheater—musicians,
entertainers, and dancers take to the stage before a Harvest Queen is chosen
amid a backdrop of spectacular fireworks.
- Rice Harvest, Bali, Indonesia
Dewi Sri, the rice goddess, is venerated as a matter
of course in Bali, where rice is the staple crop. During the harvest, villages
are festooned with flags, and simple bamboo temples dedicated to the goddess
are erected in the upstream, most sacred corners of the rice fields. Small
dolls of rice stalks representing Dewi Sri are placed in granaries as
offerings.
- Chanthaburi Fruit Fair, Chanthaburi, Thailand
Chanthaburi is known for gemstones—and for its
profusion of beautiful native fruits, as colorful as jewels. During the summer
harvest, the annual Fruit Fair exhibits exotic durians, rambutans, longans, and
mangosteens in vibrant arrangements as elaborate as Buddhist mandalas. There
are produce competitions and art displays, and the opening-day parade features
floats made from thousands of tropical fruits and vegetables.
- Sukkot, Jerusalem, Israel
Sukkot celebrates Israel’s bountiful harvests and recalls the time
when the Israelites wandered the desert living in temporary shelters. Families
build makeshift huts, or sukkah, with roofs open to the sky. Here they eat, and
sometimes sleep, for the next seven days. Wands of willow, myrtle, and palm,
together with a citron (a kind of lemon), are shaken every day in all
directions to honor the gifts from the land.
6. Blessing of the Sea, Greece
At Epiphany, which recalls the visit of the three Wise
Men to the infant Jesus, processions set off from local churches to the ocean,
where a priest blesses a gold cross before hurling it into the waves. Men leap
in to be first to retrieve it; the victor achieves grace, and banishes old
spirits from the new year.
- Olivagando, Magione, Italy
Magione’s two-day festival in November celebrates both
the feast day of St. Clement and the local olive harvest, bringing together
everyone involved in the production of olive oil. A priest blesses the new oil
at a special Mass, and the town hosts a lavish medieval dinner at its
12th-century castle.
- Lammas Festival, U.K.
Lammas marks the beginning of the harvest season, when
food is abundant and the light begins to wane. Early Britons baked bread from
the new crop to leave on church altars, and corn dolls decorated bounteous
feast tables.
- Madeira Flower Festival, Madeira, Portugal
Funchal’s April flower festival fills the air with
fragrance and marks the arrival of spring. Each of the island’s children brings
a bloom to create the colorful Muro da Esperança (Wall of Hope), and intricate
flower carpets line the streets.
- Incwala, Swaziland
In late December, men journey to the sea to gather
water so Incwala can begin. Branches from the sacred lusekwane tree are woven
into a bower for the king, and only when he eats the first fruit can his people
partake of the harvest. Source Article
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