British Life & Culture

Special Events & Celebrations

• British Culture
  homepage
• Blog
• Calendars
• Search
• Facts and figures
  • Introduction
    • The Countries
    • The Land
    • Regions
  • The United Kingdom
  • Great Britain
    • England
    • Scotland
    • Wales
  • Identity
  • London
  • Union Flag
  • Trade
    • Industries
    • Economy
  • Religion
  • Multiculture
  • Population
  • Weather
• A-Z of Britain
• Customs & traditions
  • Folklore Calendar
  • Unusual Customs
  • Festivals & holidays
  • National days
  • National Flowers
  • Traditional dances
  • Bank holidays
  • Superstitions
  • Costumes
• Britain today
  • Main index
  • Identity
  • Teenagers
  • Population
  • Religion
  • Multiculture
  • Social Class
  • Stereotypes
  • Language
  • Names
• Daily Life
  • Main index
  • Cost of living
  • Family life
  • Houses
  • Transport
  • Shops
  • Pubs
  • Weddings
• Etiquette
  • Do's and don'ts
  • Greetings
  • Social Customs
  • Eating Manners
  • Questions and answers
• Monarchy
  • Main index
  • The Queen
  • The royal family
  • Ceremonies
  • Succession
  • Family Tree
  • Royal Crest
  • National Anthem
  • Kings and Queens
• Government
• Education
• Tourist Information
  • Essentials
  • Money
  • Landmarks
  • Do's and Don'ts
  • Time
• Food and drink
  • Main index
  • Meal times
  • Main dishes
  • Puddings
  • Afternoon Tea
  • Pies
  • Cheeses
  • Eating Etiquette
• Sports and leisure
  • Sports
  • Leisure activities
• History
  • Timeline
  • Kings and Queens
• Glossary

Harvest Festival
Every year we have a Harvest Festival in our schools and churches. Do you know why? This is the time of year when all the crops have been harvested. What is a Harvest Festival? Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land. Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and very ancient. In Britain, we have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times. We celebrate this day by singing, praying and decorating our churches with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as 'Harvest Festival', usually during the month of September. Harvest Festival reminds Christians of all the good things God gives them. This makes them want to share with others who are not so fortunate. In schools and in Churches, people bring food from home to a Harvest Festival Service. After the service, the food that has been put on display is usually made into parcels and given to people in need.   When is Harvest Festival? Harvest festivals are traditionally held on or near the Sunday 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. Unlike the USA and Canada, the UK does not have a national holiday for Harvest Festival. The harvest festival of the Jewish religion is called Sukkot or 'Feast of Ingathering' or 'the 'Feast of Tabernacles'. It is celebrated at the end of the year, after Rosh Hoshanah, the third of the great Annual Festivals. History of Harvest Festival - Traditions and Customs

© Copyright Mandy Barrow 2013

Mandy is the creator of the Woodlands Resources section of the Woodlands Junior website. 
The two websites projectbritain.com and primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk are the new homes for the Woodlands Resources.

Mandy left Woodlands in 2003 to work in Kent schools as an ICT Consulatant. 
She now teaches computers at The Granville School and St. John's Primary School in Sevenoaks Kent.