Harvest Festival

Harvest is the Old English word for Autumn, the season for reaping and gathering grain and produce. Ancient harvest festivals were traditionally held on the Sunday near the full moon of the autumnal equinox, the Harvest Moon. Nowadays the festival is held at the end of harvest which varies around Britain. Farmers used to celebrate the end of the harvest with a big meal called the harvest supper, to which all who had helped in the harvest were invited. Some villages in rural areas still have a Harvest Supper. Churches and schools promote awareness of people in need of food around the world.