1.
Harvest Festivals of the World. After being hunter-gatherers, mankind learned
how to farm and cultivate crops. Since then, harvest time has been an important
event in the year to celebrate bountiful crops.
Presentation by
CVVMMK Dhaveji
School Asst. Biology
Taylor High School, Narsapur 534275
AP state India
muralidahveji@yahoo.com

2.
A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of
the main harvest of a given region.

3.
Given the differences in climate and crops around the
world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at
different places

4.
Harvest festivals typically feature feasting, both family and
public, with foods that are drawn from crops that come to
maturity around the time of the festival.

5.
Ample food and freedom from the necessity to work in the fields
are two central features of harvest festivals:

6.
eating, merriment, contests, music and romance are common
features of harvest festivals around the world

7.
1. Thanksgiving, Plymouth 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. Head
to Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts to live the history of that original
celebration. 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.

8.
2. 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.

9.
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.

10.
3. 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.

11.
Small dolls of rice stalks representing Dewi Sri are placed in granaries as
offerings.

12.
4. Chanthaburi Fruit Fair, Chanthaburi, Thailand
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

13.
5. 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.

14.
6. Incwala (First Fruit), Swaziland
In late December, Swiss 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.

15.
7. Olivagando, Magione, Italy
In 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.

16.
7. Olivagando, Magione, Italy
In 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.

17.
8. Chuseok, Korea
one of the biggest holidays in Korea, is a three day harvest festival
celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Family
members from around the country come together to share meals and
stories, and reminisce about ancestors past.

18.
It is the Korean belief that when you die, you don’t simply disappear--
deceased ancestors are said to stay with the family for four generations.
The festival is marked by traditional dress, food, liquor and events. These
range from Korean wrestling (Ssireum) to visiting ancestral graves

19.
9. The Kadayawan festival Philippines, apart from having a great
name, is a week long festival celebrating and giving thanks for a good
harvest. Kadayawan can mean many things, from something that brings
good luck, to a thanksgiving to nature. It’s traditionally celebrated with
dancing, singing, and offerings to divine protectors, particularly the
supreme god Bathala.

20.
10. Pongal Festival, South India is a celebration of the rice harvest
period of four days from Jan 13th to 16th . Held after the winter solstice, it
celebrates the return of longer days of life-giving sunlight. Its name
comes from a Tamil word meaning “to boil” and is also the name given to
a rice dish that is prepared during this time in India