2020 has been a complicated year to say the least, and with many around the world under lockdown for months at a time, the passing of time can begin to feel a bit fuzzy. However, the celebration of seasonal traditions has offered communities both a reliable marker of time and a chance to find something to celebrate in a world still grappling with a pandemic. Whilst here in Britain the advent of autumn means conkers scattered across parks, harvest church services, and squash as far as the eye can see at the local greengrocers, the United States celebrates the harvest with their own unique national holiday: Thanksgiving. Here are just a few ways British harvest celebrations differ from those across the Atlantic!
United Kingdom – Harvest Festivals and the Harvest of the Sea Thanksgiving
In the United Kingdom, the Harvest Festival is traditionally celebrated on the Sunday that falls closest to the Harvest Moon; the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox which occurred on 22 September this year. Harvest festivals are even thought to pre-date the arrival of Christianity in Britain, illustrating the reliance that early British communities had on the success of the local harvest.
In years past, this festival took place as a celebration of the successful harvesting of crops which was traditionally ended by St. Michael’s Mass (or Michaelmas) on September 29th. However, as time has passed and our society’s dependence on the seasonal harvest has lessened with the advent of new agricultural technology and an increasingly-globalized world (hello, supermarket bananas!), the celebration of the harvest has become increasingly symbolic.
While church harvest festivals are the most commonly celebrated today, there are still other traditions that have kept hold of British culture over the centuries. The dressing of feast tables and altars with hand-made corn dolls from the last sheaths of corn from the harvest still continues in some places today. While agricultural crops usually hold the spotlight for harvest festivals, bountiful fishing seasons are not ignored. One such celebration of the Harvest of the Sea Thanksgiving is held in Billingsly, London (which used to be the heart of the fishing trade in London), where an annual service is held to express gratitude for a good fishing season which sees the church’s altar adorned with nets and fish.
United States of America, Thanksgiving
In the United States, the celebration of the harvest falls later on in the autumn with the annual feast of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday of November with this annual holiday usually involving tables spilling over with feasts of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, an array of vegetables, and, of course, pumpkin pie.
According to legend, the first Thanksgiving was held in November 1621 at the village of Plymouth in the state of Massachusetts as a celebration of the pilgrims’ first successful harvest of corn. It is widely believed that the native Wampanoag tribe were also invited to partake in the feasting activities as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude after they helped teach the newcomers the ways of the land which likely saved the colony from inevitable starvation when faced with a harsh New England winter. However, even though the first Thanksgiving was supposedly held almost 400 years ago, the date was only made a national holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the American Civil War.
In centuries since, Thanksgiving is marked by one of the busiest travel weeks of the American calendar and the annual Macy’s Day Parade in New York that is broadcast nationally and receives up to 23 million viewers. Since the rise in popularity of American football, games have often been played on and around the holiday as well. Since the creation of the American National Football League (NFL) in 1920, they have hosted at least two games on Thanksgiving day itself which proves widely popular with families at home who have the day off to indulge in food.
While both countries have their own unique and valued celebrations and regional variations that are time honored traditions, I think I can say with confidence that we could learn a thing or two from the national feasting day that is Thanksgiving. Everyone can always use a reason to take a day off work and eat lots of pie!
Written by Taylor Ogle
Featured image availble on Unsplash. Image credited to Priscilla Du Preez. Image license can be found here. This image has not been altered or changed.