The fourth Thursday of November in the USA is 'Thanksgiving', their fixed celebration of seasons, harvest and plenty. Based on ancient, pagan, seasonal celebrations, now, high-jacked for religious / political gains, it wasn't always a fixed date. For millennia, early peoples would have been aware that the summer growing season was over and their journey in to winter was beginning and food stores would have to last
Showing posts with label harvest festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harvest festival. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Monday, 24 October 2016
Samhain - 'Halloween' - Day of the Dead - Seasonal changes.
So here we are again. Halloween. Treats, costumes, lanterns, spiders, bats, blood, horror, death, ghosts.
It has its origins in the ancient, pagan, pre-Christian, Celtic festival known as Samhain ("sah-win"). The Feast of the Dead. A time when humans had much less knowledge of the world around them. Later, hijacked and assimilated by the religious ceremony of All Hallows Eve & All Saints Day. A day for the dead. Look it up. It is a celebration of the end of the harvest season, a recognition of the lengthening nights, worsening weather and the harsh winter season running up to the winter solstice ( Dec 21st aka Christmas. Here ). It represents the point in the calendar when livestock were moved to lower level farmland from the higher, summer feeding grounds and when animals were slaughtered for the winter larders. In the northern hemisphere, the reduced daylight, winter temperatures and sparse food supply meant that our ancient, pagan ancestors felt the icy grip of winter tightening and closer to their (made up) spirit world, disease and death. The coming of the Light. Humans have always feared the things that they hadn't worked out.
It has its origins in the ancient, pagan, pre-Christian, Celtic festival known as Samhain ("sah-win"). The Feast of the Dead. A time when humans had much less knowledge of the world around them. Later, hijacked and assimilated by the religious ceremony of All Hallows Eve & All Saints Day. A day for the dead. Look it up. It is a celebration of the end of the harvest season, a recognition of the lengthening nights, worsening weather and the harsh winter season running up to the winter solstice ( Dec 21st aka Christmas. Here ). It represents the point in the calendar when livestock were moved to lower level farmland from the higher, summer feeding grounds and when animals were slaughtered for the winter larders. In the northern hemisphere, the reduced daylight, winter temperatures and sparse food supply meant that our ancient, pagan ancestors felt the icy grip of winter tightening and closer to their (made up) spirit world, disease and death. The coming of the Light. Humans have always feared the things that they hadn't worked out.
Thursday, 27 November 2014
'Thanksgiving' in the USA, another observance of seasonal change.
The fourth Thursday of November in the USA is 'Thanksgiving', their fixed celebration of seasons, harvest and plenty. Based on ancient, pagan, seasonal celebrations, now, high-jacked for religious / political gains, it wasn't always a fixed date. For millennia, early peoples would have been aware that the summer growing season was over and their journey in to winter was beginning and food stores would have to last them through the colder period. This happens worldwide through history.
Early settlers from other lands brought with them the harvest rituals that they observed. In these new lands, the end of the growing season would vary in time and severity depending on location, the more northerly 'states' having an earlier and harsher on set of winter. Canadian harvest rituals are much earlier. This movable feast, however, didn't foster the 'United' feeling that the 'States' were looking for. Abraham Lincoln fixed the date on which all the states would celebrate in order to a give the people a sense of unity (1863). Various tales and unsubstantiated myths
Early settlers from other lands brought with them the harvest rituals that they observed. In these new lands, the end of the growing season would vary in time and severity depending on location, the more northerly 'states' having an earlier and harsher on set of winter. Canadian harvest rituals are much earlier. This movable feast, however, didn't foster the 'United' feeling that the 'States' were looking for. Abraham Lincoln fixed the date on which all the states would celebrate in order to a give the people a sense of unity (1863). Various tales and unsubstantiated myths
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