Thanksgiving Celebrations, Now and Then
Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce may immediately conjure up the Thanksgiving table in the Unites States, but in other parts of the world, there’s more to the occasion than a fantastic feast. We’ll discover some history behind the harvest season—from making dolls in the U.K. and celebrating survival in Canada to faking drama in ancient Greece. Read on, as Explorica serves up a three-course, I mean, three-part Thanksgiving series.
Thanksgiving, First Course—United Kingdom
Today, we cross the pond to learn a little about Thanksgiving traditions in the U.K. In the old days, the “Harvest Festival” was originally a pagan rite enjoyed by those who had enough food and spare time to celebrate when the full moon—the Harvest Moon—was nearest the autumnal equinox. Champion crops became the symbol of prosperity. The first sheaf of corn was also a prized possession. Saxon farmers would offer the first sheaf to the god of fertility to help guarantee a good harvest. The last sheaf, said to contain the crop’s spirit, was fashioned into “corn dollies” that symbolized the goddess of grain. Corn dolls filled farmhouse rafters and held the spirit of the grain safe over the cold winter months.
After Christianity arrived in Britain, some traditions lived on—like honoring the first sheaf of corn. In 1843, the eccentric Reverend Robert Hawker from Cornwall introduced the Harvest Festival into the church, offering communion bread made from the first cut of corn. Around town, townspeople celebrated the end of the harvest as horses decorated with garlands of flowers and a rainbow of ribbons lugged in the last cartload of crops. A corn dolly was still made, and it was carried all during the celebrations. The doll had a place of honor at the table, too, (not just at the “kids table”) and it was safely kept there until the following spring.
If you happen to visit Britain during the festival, listen for the harvest hymn: “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.” While the song carries on, children present gifts of fruit and vegetables. Later, the gifts are given to the elderly and needy in the community.