Celebrating the Harvest … Looking Back at Harvest Festival Celebrations
During the months of September and October, churches across various denominations in Britain celebrate a Harvest Festival. The "Harvest Festival", is said to be primarily a Victorian innovation rooted in biblical themes.
The Bible mentions several festivals associated with the harvest. The Feast of Weeks, known as Shavuot, signified the commencement of the harvest season with the collection of the first fruits, while the Feast of Ingathering, or Sukkot, celebrated the conclusion of the harvest when all produce was collected and safely gathered in.
The Book of Common Prayer includes Thanksgiving prayers for particular events, including expressions of gratitude for rain following a drought, periods of peace, liberation from plague, and appreciation for abundance.
The Privy Council and the Church of England designated national Thanksgiving Days in England, establishing a specific national Thanksgiving Day for England and Wales, while separate observances were also agreed in Scotland.
Harvest Thanksgivings
There is no fixed date for Harvest Festivals. In the UK, these celebrations usually occur on a single day in either September or October, depending on the completion of local harvests. In rural communities, the Harvest Festival has become a significant annual event, alongside Christmas and Easter, often attracting people who do not usually participate in church services.
In years gone by when there was plentiful national harvest, a designated Thanksgiving Day was established by the Church of England to express gratitude to God for the bounty. These were referred to as Harvest Thanksgivings.
There were National Harvest Thanksgiving Days in 1796, 1801, 1810, 1813, 1832 and 1842. These were seen more in the West Country (Devon and Cornwall for instance) where the climate tends to be milder and harvest season typically begins earlier.
The mid-1840s are often referred to as the Hungry Forties due to a series of poor harvests. The most devastating event during this period was the Irish Potato Famine. In 1847, when a bountiful harvest finally occurred, a national Harvest Thanksgiving Day was established for Sunday, October 17, 1847, during which churches collected donations for the relief of the impoverished in Ireland. Subsequent years saw further poor harvests. Everyone will have been grateful, therefore, for the bountiful harvest in 1854.
A national Harvest Thanksgiving Day was established on Sunday, October 1, 1854. Following this, more bountiful harvests were recorded in the years from 1855 to 1859. Despite experiencing a poor harvest in 1860, the concept of an annual Harvest Thanksgiving service had already gained popularity within the church calendar. By the 1860s, such services became a regular occurrence in Anglican churches, and by the 1870s, they began to be adopted by non-conformist churches as well. St Paul's Cathedral in London hosted its inaugural service in 1874.
In the early days of Harvest Thanksgivings, the church was adorned with the final sheaf of corn from the harvest. As time progressed, the decorations grew increasingly elaborate, with parishioners contributing a colourful selection of flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Deuteronomy 16.10, says: ‘celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honour the LORD your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you’ (Good News Bible).
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