Thanksgiving
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Photo: coming |
In Germany Saint Michael’s Day on September 29 marked the end of the harvest season and Thanksgiving, Erntedankfest was celebrated with a special church service on the first Sunday of October. Americans however, celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November to commemorate the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving to God for the land and for a copious harvest.
Europe’s harvest celebrations hold a long tradition. They are great community affairs and many have their origin in pagan rituals. From early October, when fruit and grain produce could be harvested to late November, the time of winter beginning, people could use nature’s richness on the last warm days of the year to club together and to enjoy festivities.
Through the centuries, villages all over Germany celebrate with festivals that include dances, parades, games, banquets and pageants. Many regions give their thanksgiving fest a special name. German wine producing areas celebrate a Winemaker’s Fest, Winzer Fest, when all grapes are picked whereas Alpine regions tend to celebrate the reaping of grain. Nowadays these traditions have not survived in many villages and towns, certainly not in cities, where agricultural work is non existent. Modern machinery has accelerated the process of bringing in the crops and took the romantic aspect of harvesting as hard men’s work. In Germany Thanksgiving is still an official holiday due to its religious character.
