Autumn is upon us (in the northern hemisphere anyway) and so is the time of harvest.  In fact, did you know that the Old English word “haerfest” actually means “autumn”?  That’s not the only interesting link to history either.  In fact, the autumn harvest is a time of year steeped in ancient traditions.

For example, did you know that scarecrows, one of most iconic symbols of harvest time, have been used for over 3,000 years?  Originally, they were as simple as wooden frames dressed in old clothes, but over the centuries they’ve been made in all sorts of different ways across different cultures – whatever has worked to protect ripe crops.

Anyway, and if you’re on the hunt for harvest festival printables for your children to help celebrate, we’ve assembled ours below, starting with these two harvest-themed pictures to colour in:

 

When is Harvest Festival 2024 (UK)?

Well, did you know that here in the UK there isn’t one, single date when everyone celebrates Harvest Festival?  No, indeed!  However, lots of people use the dates recommended by the Church of England, which is typically any Sunday you choose choice during the September/October harvest season.

In 2024 Sunday, the 6th of October is proving a popular choice.  Other people are celebrating it a bit earlier, on Sunday the 22nd of September.  This is because the autumn equinox takes place around this time, usually between the 21st to the 23rd of September.

If you wanted to be ultra-traditional, you wouldn’t hold your harvest festival after Michaelmas Day on the 29th of September, because that’s when the church decided that the Harvest Festival period should end.  The idea was that all the crops had to be brought in before St Michael’s Mass and that parishes would then gather in their churches to give thanks.  In modern times however, dates are not as strict.

As harvest celebrations  take place over several days, it doesn’t really matter when you have yours.

Also, it’s worth remembering that traditions surrounding bringing in the harvest predate Christianity by a long chalk, in the UK going back to at least Saxon times.

Some of the very old traditions are feasting, dancing and playing games.  Making corn dollies was also popular, which were carefully kept in people’s homes as a tribute to the Spirit of the Corn or Goddess of the Grain, in the hope that he or she would make sure there was a good harvest the following year.  Not all corn dollies were made in the shape of a doll mind you, some were woven to look like bells, crosses, knots, spirals and animals such as hares and horses.  Different parts of the country often had their own corn dolly traditions.

Along with all the harvest festivals, we get to enjoy the magical Harvest Moon at this time of year.  It’s a full moon which was traditionally very important to farmers because its extra light allowed them to work late into the night.  This year in the United Kingdom, the Harvest Moon will shine down upon us on Friday Thursday, the 17th of September.  Why not colour in a harvest moon of your own?

Most of all, the time of harvesting was a chance to come together and have fun, to be thankful for whatever the land had supplied, and to lift people’s spirits and put them in a positive frame of mind, ready to get through the winter.

If you’re having your own Harvest Festival celebration at your home, church or school, you might like our free printable poster:

And after all the harvest festivals of course, we’re in the run up to Halloween…