Much before Thanksgiving Day originated in America, there were harvest festivals
celebrated all around the world, since agriculture was the chief occupation and
the precursor of the earlier human civilization. People, then, feared the
unknown and thought everything was related to the supernatural and thus, the
notion of evil spirits came into existence. The ancient Greek, Roman, Hebrew,
Chinese and Egyptian performed rituals and celebrated festivals to either please
or ward off these evil spirits. We will see here a few of those harvest
festivals that are much like Thanksgiving Day in their conception.
Greek Civilization
Thesmophoria was a 3-day harvest festival of the ancient Greeks. It was
celebrated in the autumn, to honor Demeter, the Greek Goddess of Food Grains. On
the first day of this festival, married women (to represent fertility) built
beautiful shelters for the Goddess to rest, complete with comfy couches and
plants. On the second day, they fasted. The festival ended with a grand feast on
the third day, which included delectable offerings for the Goddess, prepared
from seed corn, to win her blessings for a bountiful harvest, cakes, fruits and
pigs.
Roman Civilization
Romans celebrated Celeria on 4th of October every year, in the honor of Ceres,
the Roman Goddess of Corn. The Goddess was offered first fruits of the harvest,
along with pigs. The highlights of this harvest festival were parades, games,
music and dances, along with a grand thanksgiving feast.
Chinese Civilization
Chung Ch'ui was a 3-day long harvest festival of China. This festival was held
in the honor of moon, which is said to be born on this day. It was celebrated on
the full moon day of the 8th month. The highlights of the festival were round
and yellow 'moon cakes', with an image of rabbit on them. It was believed that
moon showers flowers on earth on this day, but only those who are blessed with
an exceptionally good fortune could see them.
The thanksgiving feast of this festival included a roasted pig and first fruits
of the harvest. However, there is another version of the story, which involves a
clever strategy of the Chinese to win back their freedom from the enemies. It is
said that when enemy armies took over China, the native women cooked special
moon cakes and distributed them to every family, in the name of this festival.
What enemies couldn't guess was that there were secret messages hidden in each
of these moon cakes, which ultimately led to their downfall.
Hebrew Civilization
Over 3000-year old, 8-day long Sukkoth is a Jewish harvest festival. It is
celebrated in autumn, on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (according to the
Hebrew calendar). It is celebrated to commemorate the hardships of the Moses and
his follower Israelites, while they wandered in the desert for forty years and
had to live in the makeshift huts (known as succots) that were like camping
tents of today. However, these succots were made up of branches and had a roof
of foliage, where they used to hang fruits and vegetables, such as apples,
grapes, corn and pomegranates.
Egyptian Civilization
The spring harvest festival of Egypt was celebrated to honor Min, the Egyptian
God of Vegetation and Fertility. The highlights of the festival included a grand
parade with Pharaoh, their ruler, as the center of attraction and a gala feast,
along with music, dance and sports. However, there was one typical custom of the
festival that set it apart from other harvest festivals. There was much weeping
and show-off of grief by the farmers, as they harvested their corn, which was
meant to be a hoax to the spirit of corn, to escape its wrath and engage its
pity as they cut down the corn.
Thanksgiving In Canada
Thanksgiving is an annual holiday in Canada and is more or less, considered a
secular celebration (though God is thanked for a good harvest season). Canadian
Thanksgiving is also associated with a harvest festival, just like the
Thanksgiving celebrations in US.
Thanksgiving In Germany
In Germany, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival known as Erntedankfest. Its
celebrations have been a long standing tradition in not only Germany, but the
other German-speaking countries of Europe as well. In Germany, Thanksgiving is
mainly a rural celebration, with religious significance. In the large cities of
country,
Thanksgiving In USA
In the United States of America (USA), Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth
Thursday in November. An annual celebration, it represents the time of communal
Thanksgiving, expression of gratitude and lavish feasts. The original pilgrims
had celebrated the autumn harvest with a ‘feast of thanks’, in which people from
the neighborhood were also invited to share the meal.
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