Looking at the multicultural calendar for September through November, one can see that historically people who have lived close to the soil have celebrated autumn as a season for rejoicing in their harvest rewards. Harvest festivals are held in many cultures. While the customs vary, there are some common themes. It is a busy time when people are united through long hours to harvest the crops that they have nurtured since spring. After the long hard work has been finished, they celebrate the successful completion of their work and the results of their labor. Harvest dances, accompanied by feasting and drinking, are celebrated around the world. This is also a time of thanksgiving in which people of the community gather together to offer thanks to the gods they worship.
Some of the customs of the autumn season originated in the fears of people long ago whose livelihoods were subject to the unpredictable forces of nature. People thought that their crops would be harmed if the gods were angry with them, so they offered sacrifices of various kinds to avoid offence. Once the crops were harvested and stored for the winter, people still feared that something bad might happen to the crops. Evil, destructive spirits, bad witches, goblins, demons, the souls of the dead were thought to roam the countryside at this time of the year. Fire, ceremonies, and chants were used to scare away the evil spirits. Although Halloween no longer has this meaning, it originated in these fears of earlier peoples.
Rosh Hashanah
September 11-12
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, means “head of the year” and is observed at the beginning of Tishri, the first month of the Jewish year. The first ten days of the Jewish month Tishri are called “The Ten Days of Repentance.” The Jewish New Year is greeted not with noise and joy, but with a serious and solemn heart. Jews believe there is a Book of Life in heaven in which every deed, work, and thought of every human being is recorded. On Rosh Hashanah, the Book of Life is opened and the good and evil acts, words, and thoughts of each person are examined. On the basis of this record the fate of each person is inscribed.
Leshanah tovah tekatevu velehatemv
, meaning “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year” is the wish expressed on Jewish New Year cards.
A custom associated with Rosh Hashanah is to set a dish of honey or syrup on the table and to avoid eating sour foods. It is believed that if one eats sweet dishes at the beginning of the year, sweetness will abide for the entire year.
This holy day is observed in the synagogue or temple where the
shofar
is blown to rouse those who have fallen asleep in their duties and neglected the truth. The
shofar
is a natural wind instrument made from a ram’s horn. It is one of the oldest wind instruments known to the world.
Yom Kippur
September 20
The Tenth Day of Repentance, the most sacred day of the Jewish year, is Yom Kippur. Worshipers abstain from all work, food, and drink until the fall of night. The day is observed with services in the synagogues. Eight times during the day, the congregation makes a confession to every sin and wrongdoing in case they have committed any sins unknowingly. Memorial services for the dead are held and candles are kept burning in memory of the dead. When the first star appears in the sky, the
shofar
is blown in one long steady note, signaling the end of Yom Kippur. Sins forgiven, many Jews now begin preparations for the festival of Sukkoth.
Sukkoth
September 25-October 2
Sukkoth, “The Festival of Booths or Tabernacles,” is the longest and most joyous Jewish festival. It begins on the eve of the fifteenth day of the Jewish month Tishri and is observed for nine days. The observance, which developed among the Jews who farmed the fields and orchards of ancient Palestine, was a harvest time festival. It is also reminiscent of the wanderings of the lsraelites in the wilderness after their deliverance, when they lived in booths or huts.
The main feature of the Sukkoth festival was the building of booths or
succos
. The
succos
is a structure made from planks and odd pieces of lumber and is distinguished by an open roof which is covered with leaves and branches. Each man erected a
succos
for his family. Sometimes, neighbors would join forces and erect a great
succos
. The entire family turns out to decorate it with strings of bright berries, garlands of longlasting flowers, corn, ripe pomegranates, and clusters of grapes. The family gathers for all its meals during the festival in the
succos
.
Chinese Harvest Moon Festival
October 17
On the fifteenth day of the Eighth Moon called the Harvest Moon-according to Chinese tradition the rule of the sun begins to wane. From that day on, the days begin to grow shorter and cooler; the nights grow longer; and once again autumn is in the air. The Chinese believed that on this night the moon is her brightest and fullest.
The Birthday of the Moon is one of the happiest and one of the most important holidays of China. The Birthday of the Moon arrives when the harvests are in and people all over China celebrate “Harvest Home” of Thanksgiving. They are grateful to their gods and to their ancestors for the crops of the summer that will provide for them throughout the winter. It is a season for rejoicing.
Long before the holiday arrives, cakes are baked, round as the moon, made of pale-yellow flour, decorated with red, yellow, green, and sometimes gold leaf. At midnight, when the moon shines brightest, the family gathers for a brief service to the Queen of the Skies and eats the festival meal out in the moonlight. One of the most popular decorations of this festival is the rabbit, who, like the moon, sleeps with his eyes open. He promies a long life to those who are virtuous.