Giving Thanks

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.
Henry Alford

For as long as people have been planting and gathering food, there have likely been harvest festivals to celebrate the end of the growing season. Giving thanks is a way for people to share themselves with one another, to give to others some of what has been given to them. Picture yourself at one of these festivals, sharing in the giving:

You are an Algonkian child living at the time of the pilgrims. Your people hold six thanksgiving festivals during the year. The first gives thanks to the creator for the maple tree and its syrup. Second is the planting feast, where the seeds are blessed. The strawberry festival is next, celebrating the first fruits of the season. Summer brings the green corn festival to give thanks for the ripening corn. In late fall, the harvest festival gives thanks for the food you have grown. Midwinter is the last ceremony of the old year.

Now, travel to present-day China. The Mid-Autumn Festival or Chinese Moon Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. You are excited to see your family and loved ones gathering to enjoy the full autumn moon that is a symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. You enjoy mooncakes along with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea. Then you take part in a brightly lit lantern procession and watch a colorful puppet show!

Perhaps you are a child of India. If you live in Kerala, you celebrate Onam in August or September. Festivities begin ten days in advance! Flowers adorn every home. A procession of elephants, fireworks, and dances are part of the festivities. Onam also celebrates the mythical King Mahabali and his golden rule. Feared by the gods that he might become too powerful, he was sent into exile in the nether world. The gods, however, allowed him to return once a year to visit his people and be assured that they are happy.

Here you are, as a Korean child, celebrating Chu Suk! You travel with your family to ancestral sites, where you have a memorial service, then hug everyone around you and eat a special meal together to celebrate and be thankful for each other. You might play turtle tag, or sing folk songs with family and friends. The night before Chu Suk is the time for Kang Kang Sue Wol Lae, which is a traditional ceremony where women gather in a circle and sing songs. Chu Suk is a time of feasting and happiness.

If you lived in West Africa, you might celebrate the Festival of Yams. Yams are the first crops to be harvested each year. People offer yams to the gods and ancestors first before they distribute them to the rest of the village. Dancers wear masks and each dance tells a story, such as the story of a good ghost who looks after the crops and scares away the bad ghosts who try to spoil the food. This dance might scare a child from another country, but not you -- you would be celebrating.

Jewish children all over the world celebrate the harvest festival Sukkot, which also commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. In honor of the children of Israel in the wilderness, people dwell or at least eat their meals in temporary shelters called sukkahs. The sukkah has at least three sides and a partially open roof covered with greenery. Part of the fun of sukkot is decorating the sukkah with fruits and, in the United States, autumn vegetables like corn and squash.

All over the world, people celebrate the end of summer, the fall time of harvest, and the gift of community, family, and world with celebrations full of thanks.

As you celebrate this Thanksgiving, who are the people you are thankful for? Can you list them? Can you celebrate your family and friends by telling them how much they mean to you? Giving thanks is a gift you give to others. It's a gift of love that comes softly, into your heart, to help you learn to give back.