Posts tagged ‘thanksgiving’
Thanksgiving Course Three—Ancient Greece
Are you full yet? The third course of Explorica’s Thanksgiving series puts it all in the gods hands—the ancient Greek gods, that is. According to mythology, it was Demeter’s, the goddess of food grains, job to feed the world. (No pressure, Demeter.) She set the stage for women taking charge of “Thanksgiving” feasts.
A little history about Demeter… Her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld and Demeter’s brother, to become queen of the pits of the earth. Not her ambition, (surprise, surprise) Demeter became so depressed she wouldn’t do her job, refusing to eat or feed the world until the other gods came up with a plan to rescue her daughter. Luckily, they did. And, after the mother-daughter reunion, grateful Demeter gave the gift of agriculture to us mere mortals.
To honor the goddess of food grains and in an effort to receive Demeter’s blessings, the ancient Greeks offered up seed corn, cakes, fruits and pigs. This went on for nine full days during what was called Thesmophoria—the holiday name meaning laws (or thesmoi) stating men must provide nourishment and work the land. And back then, though “men” referred to mankind, women really were the leaders of this occasion. Female officials took charge of state-sponsored feasts and Greek matrons who usually stayed home all the time couldn’t wait to take part in all the action. And the action came as quintessential Greek drama. It’s believed matrons re-enacted the anguish Demeter suffered when Hades kidnapped her daughter Persephone. Also, the women most likely pleaded for the goddesses’ help in obtaining a bountiful harvest. Not exactly the merry-making you’d associate with a festival. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why you can barely find any remnants of the holiday in modern Greece.
Thanksgiving Course Two—Canada
Ready for your second course of Explorica’s Thanksgiving treat? Here’s a look at how the holiday began in Canada. The most popular stories about Canadian Thanksgiving, known as Jour de l’Action de grace in the French speaking regions, involve two explorers with dangerous adventures. You could say the fall holiday is a celebration of survival.
Avoiding the fate of past explorers, Marin Frobisher survived his long journey in an effort to uncover a northern passage from Europe to Asia. Though the mission was unsuccessful, the fact that he actually returned was reason enough (if not more reason) to celebrate. And so in 1578, he held a ceremony to give thanks for his homecoming in the present province of Newfoundland and Labrador. This feast is known as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in North America.
Others believe the holiday began in 1604 when French settlers crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain (the very same who discovered and first explored the Great Lakes.) Gladly sharing food with the First Nations neighbors, the travelers held huge feasts of thanks annually and formed ‘”The Order of Good Cheer” which marked the harvests and other events.
Still another origin theory is that it all started as an old European farming custom of coming together to toast a plentiful harvest. The farmers filled a goat’s curved horn with fruits and grains called a cornucopia or the horn of plenty. It’s said they brought this tradition to Canada. But hundreds of years went by before the Canadian Parliament recognized the folk practice. The country didn’t have a set date to celebrate this end of the harvest until 1957 when it officially became the second Monday in October. To change it up even more, officials decided that every year the holiday would have a different theme marking an important event to be thankful for. Perhaps that’s where we get our custom of saying thanks for our individual blessings every year around the table.
Thanksgiving, First Course—United Kingdom
Thanksgiving Celebrations, Now and Then
Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce may immediately conjure up the Thanksgiving table in the Unites States, but in other parts of the world, there’s more to the occasion than a fantastic feast. We’ll discover some history behind the harvest season—from making dolls in the U.K. and celebrating survival in Canada to faking drama in ancient Greece. Read on, as Explorica serves up a three-course, I mean, three-part Thanksgiving series.
Thanksgiving, First Course—United Kingdom
Today, we cross the pond to learn a little about Thanksgiving traditions in the U.K. In the old days, the “Harvest Festival” was originally a pagan rite enjoyed by those who had enough food and spare time to celebrate when the full moon—the Harvest Moon—was nearest the autumnal equinox. Champion crops became the symbol of prosperity. The first sheaf of corn was also a prized possession. Saxon farmers would offer the first sheaf to the god of fertility to help guarantee a good harvest. The last sheaf, said to contain the crop’s spirit, was fashioned into “corn dollies” that symbolized the goddess of grain. Corn dolls filled farmhouse rafters and held the spirit of the grain safe over the cold winter months.
After Christianity arrived in Britain, some traditions lived on—like honoring the first sheaf of corn. In 1843, the eccentric Reverend Robert Hawker from Cornwall introduced the Harvest Festival into the church, offering communion bread made from the first cut of corn. Around town, townspeople celebrated the end of the harvest as horses decorated with garlands of flowers and a rainbow of ribbons lugged in the last cartload of crops. A corn dolly was still made, and it was carried all during the celebrations. The doll had a place of honor at the table, too, (not just at the “kids table”) and it was safely kept there until the following spring.
If you happen to visit Britain during the festival, listen for the harvest hymn: “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.” While the song carries on, children present gifts of fruit and vegetables. Later, the gifts are given to the elderly and needy in the community.