9781422276594

introduction

Thanksgiving & Other Festivals of the Harvest

E very populated area of the world relies on food from the earth to sustain its people and animals. Likewise, over time people everywhere have developed beliefs that explain why and how their crops grow or fail to grow, in turn nourishing them or letting them down. The stunning variety of crops around the world that end up on family tables are celebrated, recognized, and praised in a multitude of festivals, including the annual Thanksgiving feasts in the fall in North America and the European Midsummer celebrations on or near the longest days of the year. Some festivals are held in hopes of encouraging bountiful harvests while others celebrate a plentiful yield. Harvest festivals are often big, boisterous acknowledgments of the economic or dietary importance of certain crops to a region or group of people, such as the yam in Western Africa or sugarcane in parts of the Caribbean. Given the diversity of the world’s geography and climates, during every month of the year in some part of the world, a community, village, religious group, city, or even entire country is celebrating the beginning or end of a life-giving harvest.

Thanksgiving & Other Festivals of the Harvest

8 n