1.-INTRODUCCIÓN
El Harvest Festival o Fiesta de la Cosecha se realiza desde época pagana para dar gracias a los dioses por los alimentos recibidos en la cosecha. En el Reino Unido este día se celebra cantando, rezando y decorando las iglesias con cestas de frutas y otros productos de la huerta. Los alumnos cantan en los colegios algunas canciones tradicionales como "Cauliflowers Fluffy".
2.- ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration
that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the
differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found
at various times during the year.
Harvest Festival is one of
the oldest known festivals. In the UK it is traditionally held on or near the
Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This moon is the full moon around the time of the
Autumn Equinox in September. Unlike the USA and Canada, the UK does not have a
national holiday for Harvest Festival.
The celebration of Harvest
in Britain dates back to pre-Christian times when the success of the crop yield
governed the lives of the people. Saxon farmers offered the first cut sheaf of
corn to one of their gods of fertility, in order to safeguard a good harvest
the following year. The last sheaf was thought to contain the Spirit of the
Corn, and its cutting was usually accompanied by the ritual sacrifice of an
animal - often a hare caught hiding in the corn. Later, a model hare made from
straw was used to represent the continuity of the Spirit. This practice
eventually led to the making of plaited 'corn dollies', symbolising the goddess
of the grain. These were hung from the rafters in farmhouses until the next
year. When the harvest was in, a celebratory supper was held to which the whole
community was invited.
The traditional ways of
celebrating the harvest still survive today in rural communities. It is traditional to bring food to schools and
churches (to be distributed to the needy), pray and sing hymns, and, in
schools, to use the occasion to learn about the harvest process and farming,
and about fruit and vegetables. Many schools and churches now use the Harvest
Festival to raise money and awareness for food shortages in developing
countries.
Students sing a traditional song called “Cauliflowers
fluffy”.
Cauliflowers Fluffy
lyrics:
Cauliflowers Fluffy and cabbages green
Strawberries are sweeter than any I've seen
Beetroots purple and onions white
All grow steadily day and night
Cauliflowers Fluffy and cabbages green
Strawberries are sweeter than any I've seen
Beetroots purple and onions white
All grow steadily day and night
The apples are ripe
and the plums are red
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed
Blackberries are juicy and rhubards sour
Marrows fattening hour by hour
Gooseberries hairy and lettuces fat
Radishes round and runner beans flat
The apples are ripe and the plums are red
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed
Orangey carrots and turnips cream
Reddening tomatoes that used to be green
Brown potatoes in little heaps
Down in the darkness where the celery sleeps
The apples are ripe and the plums are red
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed, Yea!
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed
Blackberries are juicy and rhubards sour
Marrows fattening hour by hour
Gooseberries hairy and lettuces fat
Radishes round and runner beans flat
The apples are ripe and the plums are red
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed
Orangey carrots and turnips cream
Reddening tomatoes that used to be green
Brown potatoes in little heaps
Down in the darkness where the celery sleeps
The apples are ripe and the plums are red
The broadbeans are sleeping in their blankety bed, Yea!
More information in the following link http://vimeo.com/29738330
By Sonia Marañón
