How to Celebrate Harvest Festival at Your School
Harvest festival has been celebrated in Britain since the pagan times and has been an important event in the school and church calendar ever since. The traditions of the harvest event still exist today and the message of thanks remains significant for children celebrating this event across the country.
Harvest festival is a celebration of all the food grown over the summer period and a chance to show gratitude for all the hard work and effort put in to harvesting our crops. In many schools, celebrating harvest festival is a fun occasion full of songs, prayers and poignant moments of thanks held on the closest day to the autumn equinox, usually in September.
The harvest festival is one of the first major events celebrated in the school calendar so it’s important to be prepared. Here are a few tips on how to celebrate harvest festival and for making it one to remember:
Singing Songs:
Every harvest celebration needs a range of harvest themed songs as a key element to their event. Not only does this provide fun interaction for the children, the importance of the occasion can also be recognised in the lyrics. Singing harvest themed songs is a great way for children to take in the harvest message of thanks. Purchasing an assembly songbook for harvest is an easy way to keep a range of great harvest festival songs on hand that can be used year after year.
Showing Awareness:
Harvest Festival also gives children the chance to consider the needy, who don’t always benefit from the bountiful summer harvest. That’s why most schools encourage children to bring whatever food they can to be later distributed to local charities as celebrating harvest festival is also a time for thinking of others. The food can be presented during the festival and stored in packages handmade by the children as part of the preparation.
Understanding the term ‘Harvest’:
The harvest period is one of the most important times for farmers across Britain as it is a culmination of a year’s work and investment to produce a large crop that can last throughout the winter. Why not invite a local farmer to your school to give a small presentation on how the harvest season works? This would give children a better understanding of all the hard work that goes into growing crops and what a vital food source our crops are.
Whatever you decide to do, have a great harvest festival celebration and remember to take a moment and give thanks to all the people that help make a great harvest every year!