The harvest is the result of months of hard work. All through the Spring and Summer, agricultural workers labour, but as Autumn rolls in, the hay bales have been gathered, the wheat harvested, the fruit picked and the vegetables plucked from the earth. Golden cider flows from the presses, jams and preserves bubble hot and sticky in pots, and the cooling air is warmed by the scent of baking and cooking. These are the good times, just before the frigid, dark winter sets in, when the hard work of the summer is winding down, and food and drink are plentiful. It’s the perfect time for a festival, and a variety of traditions have developed around the world to celebrate the season’s hard work.
In Japan, the Tsukimi (or Moon Viewing) festival is held under the full moon in the eighth month of the Japanese calendar (around late September). During this time, buttery roasted Japanese taro are made as Lunar offerings, and dango, chewy glutinous rice flour dumplings smothered in syrup or sweet red bean paste are eaten. Then for dinner, firm udon noodles are covered with a steaming broth and topped with nori seaweed and a gooey egg (the yolk symbolising the moon). As the moon rises, people compose poetry to read aloud to it in the hopes of a good harvest in the upcoming year.
In the nation of Georgia, Rtveli is celebrated in late September. Georgia is a highly fertile and mountainous country, and Georgians take their food and wine extremely seriously. On Rtveli, a supra, or feast, is held, during which an absolutely huge spread is shared by a large group of family, friends and neighbours. Their exquisite wine (almost always locally made) is poured into red earthenware bowls, and a tamada, or toastmaster, leads the celebrations, praising friendship and telling stories. To accompany the wine, Georgians eat (among many, many other things) khachapuri, soft bread loaves stuffed with mild, melty sulguni cheese (think here of a mix of feta and mozzarella), mtsvadi, or kebabs skewered on long blades, seasoned with garlic, coriander and hot pepper, then cooked over an open fire, and khinkhali, beautiful pleated dumplings with a pinched top filled with minced meat and a flavourful broth. Then there are piles of fruits and vegetables: persimmons, sweet and golden as concentrated sunlight, ruby red pomegranates, rich grilled eggplants and peppers, as well as salads made from perfect summer tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and walnuts.
In the United Kingdom, the harvest festival was traditionally held in late September. Nowadays, few people celebrate, but traditions, such as competitions between neighbours to see who can grow the biggest marrow or cabbage (these can get pretty nasty, and sabotage is not uncommon), persist. In Wales, Calan Gaef, held on the 1st of November, celebrates the final work of the harvest season, and is regarded as an opportunity, in true Celtic style, to reflect on the cyclical rhythm of our lives, the seasons, nature and time. During this festival, a game called Graseg Fedi (meaning the Harvest Mare) is played. After the year’s grain is harvested, the last little bit is left and tied up tight. Then, all those involved in the harvest take turns throwing their sickles at it from a distance of 10-13ft (3-4m). Whoever manages to cut the “Mare” is declared the winner, who is rewarded with a pint of beer and the right to hang the Graseg Fedi in his or her house.
Historically, harvest festivals in the UK were an important part of the agricultural calendar, and featured feasts and communal industry in making preserves, jams, pickles and cider. When British religious non-conformists began settling in North America in the 17th century, they brought with them British festive traditions. When they met with the local Wampanoag people, they saw that these Indigenous Americans had a similar custom in early Autumn, in which thanks were given for a successful harvest, accompanied by the ceremonial eating of corn as well as feasting, music, and dancing. The two peoples realised they had something in common, but that’s a story for another postcard…
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History of Thanksgiving
These hundred or so men and women followed a strict and literalist interpretation of the Bible known as Puritanism. Puritan life was famously austere, and many Puritan communities would forgo traditional holidays, including, famously, Christmas, or celebrate them only as days of penance and fasting. However, days of thanksgiving were also a part of their calendar, especially during the harvest season. On these days, the usual routine of hard work, chastity and prayer would be broken up with an evening feast, where thanks would be given to God and some of the fruits of their labour, scrimped and saved, would be enjoyed.
The first Pilgrim Fathers arrived on the Mayflower in modern-day Cape Cod on November 21, 1620. They explored the coastline until they set up their first colony in a place they named Plymouth, the germ of the seed that would eventually grow into the United States of America and Canada. Life here was incredibly hard. The colonists were weak, diseased and emaciated from the trip across the Atlantic. They had arrived too late in the year to plant crops, and as they began settling their new home, one of the most brutal winters in a generation began. For their Christmas dinner, the pilgrims had only hardtack and water.
The first year was harsh, and about half of the pilgrims perished before summer. In fact, the entire colony would have starved if it weren’t for the local Wampanoag people, and especially a local leader named Tisquantum, who spoke English. They taught these new arrivals how to survive in this rich and fertile land. How to grow squash, beans, and corn together, how to catch the abundant fish in the rivers and streams, and how to tap maple trees for their sweet, sticky syrup (something to remember as you tuck into your pecan pie).
Thanks to the Wampanoag, the pilgrims scraped through. As November rolled around, marking roughly a year after their landing, the Pilgrims had managed to reap the bounty of these lands, and a harvest festival or day of thanksgiving was held. Around 50 pilgrims invited about 90 Wampanoag to the table, where a great feast was enjoyed. Roast wild fowl from the forests, grilled fish from the sea, great mountains of cranberries, and, of course, the staple three sisters - beans, squash, and corn, that would nourish both Indigenous Americans and the Pilgrim Fathers in the years to come.
This is the story of Thanksgiving, a festival celebrated in both Canada and the United States, the two nations born from the first steps of the Pilgrim Fathers. More than two centuries later, in an attempt to reunite a country divided by a bitter civil war, President Abraham Lincoln passed the Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday in the USA. Now all Americans come together on the last Thursday of November to remember the hardships of the Pilgrim Fathers, the hospitality and wisdom of the Wampanoag, and the importance of friendship, family, and good food.
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Regional Thanksgivings
New England, the region in the far north-east of the USA, is the home of Thanksgiving, and the spread here is the most stereotypical. A huge roast turkey is the centrepiece, as it is in most of the USA. Side dishes are abundant and include comforting green bean casseroles, buttery mashed potatoes and the strangely delicious sweet potato casserole, topped with toasted marshmallows. Finally, pies are the most popular dessert, especially pumpkin pie, reflecting the autumnal season, and apple pie with ice cream, an absolute American classic.
North of the border in Canada, the Thanksgiving spread is often quite similar to that in New England. One difference is the preference for maple syrup, the same sweet, rich, golden liquid the Wampanoag taught the Pilgrim Fathers to tap. Pecan pie is the most common use for the syrup, where the pie is filled with a decadent maple syrup and chopped pecan mixture, which caramelises as the pie bakes, and then topped with softly crunchy pecan nuts and a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
South of the Mason-Dixie Line, in states such as the Carolinas, Kentucky, or Alabama, the Thanksgiving spread begins to incorporate influences from the cuisine of Black Americans, itself influenced by African cuisines, as well as that of Native Americans, the inventiveness born of poverty, and the tradition of the barbecue. Corn bread replaces bread rolls, and the famous collard greens appear - a salty and sour dish made from vegetables cooked with bacon, and combined with vinegar, which cuts through the fatty pork. The most important side dish in the south, however, has to be a big pot of macaroni and cheese, topped with golden breadcrumbs, a gooey, cheesy comfort food that is often just as popular as the Thanksgiving turkey.
Way down in Louisiana, the foodways of French and Spanish colonists, West Africans and Native Americans combine to form the delicious Creole and Cajun cuisines. Here, the Thanksgiving meal differs greatly from the rest of the country, featuring gumbos, or piquant stews thickened with a dark roux and okra, flavoured with the holy trinity of onions, celery and bell pepper (as well as ‘the pope’ - garlic) and containing andouille sausage, local crawfish and shrimp. This is accompanied by jambalaya, a hearty rice casserole, rillons, or pork belly braised in a thick, sticky red wine, brown sugar and thyme-based sauce, and all mopped up with perfect fluffy white rice and crispy baguettes.
Southwest cuisine is famous for its Mexican influences, and these often show up on the local Thanksgiving table. Tamales, a labour of love, little parcels of pork cooked down in a red chile sauce, wrapped in corn masa and then boiled in corn husks, are individually assembled by teams of family members labouring under abuela. Big pots of pozole, a rich, dark red Mexican soup containing hominy, pork, red chile sauce and topped with thinly sliced cabbage, avocado and diced tomatoes, and spicy carne asada are combined with hot, smoky, complex salsas and robust corn tortillas to create a Thanksgiving spread that would have blown the hats off the Pilgrim Fathers.
If I had more time, I could describe many, many more different Thanksgiving tables found across the USA that are just as delicious and interesting as those above. African, Italian, Jewish, Irish, Polish, Arab, and all other kinds of Americans each have their own twist on the feast. As do Californians, Texans, Appalachians and Midwesterners. There are many ways to eat on Thanksgiving, but what unites all these diverse celebrations is the spirit of the holiday. All across the country, on that last Thursday of November, families, friends and neighbours come together to reflect on the past year, on their relationships and struggles, and take a moment to express gratitude for all the good life has to offer.
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Thanksgiving Day
We’re at the end of November, the air is crisp and cool, and the leaves are golden. It’s the night before the big day and the doorbell rings as family members from all across the country, perhaps even the world, arrive home. Mothers and fathers greet sons and daughters, uncles and aunts bring along the cousins, and the grown-up kids head out to the town to see high school buddies from days long past.
The next day, those in charge of dinner wake up early to begin preparing the turkey, which will cook for hours. Everyone else mills in and out of the kitchen, asking to help, but really just getting in the way. The cook makes some quick snacks and puts them in bowls in the living room, where everyone settles down to watch the Thanksgiving football game. The aroma of roasted meats wafts through the house.
It seems like an eternity has passed, but finally the call rings out and everyone takes their place in the dining room. Some families may say a prayer, and others will go around the table, each guest mentioning something that they have been thankful for over the past year. The turkey is carved, the gravy boat passed around, bread is broken, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes are spooned onto plates. The family jokes and laughs, they congratulate the cooks, a clever aunt deftly changes the subject when politics are brought up. Then, as plates are cleared away, the desserts are brought out with strong coffee. This is the highlight of the day for many, as a variety of pies with autumnal fillings are served: sweet, caramelly pecan pie, soft, warming pumpkin pie, and, of course, that dessert more American than Uncle Sam himself, apple pie.
Then, everyone waddles over to the sofa. Perhaps a family favourite movie is put on, or board games are played. Grandfather falls asleep as the TV glows softly. As nighttime rolls in, the family’s famous turkey sandwiches cap off the celebrations, and everyone retires to bed to snooze off a day of family, food and warmth.
