All summer long you toiled in the garden with the kids. The time has come for the harvest. Here are a few ideas for having a harvest celebration with your kids. May it bring the joy back to the garden!
Bonfire
A bonfire is a fire started in a pile, preferably in a controlled area such as a fire pit surrounded by stones and other material that won't catch on fire. It is usually continuously fed with logs and branches until it is no longer needed or wanted.
Traditions over the years have been added to the bonfire. Cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows are just a couple of the traditional things people do by a bonfire. Coming together to celebrate is the wonderful part of this tradition.
A bonfire is very synonymous with warm summer nights and camping. It has been associated with summer because of the ancient traditions surrounding the bonfire. Many believe the bonfire started with religious practices, signifying the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest.
Start the bonfire and have a sing-a-long session or have all members present tell a story. To make it thematic for the harvest, tell stories that relate to food.
Harvest meal
What we now call the First Thanksgiving was a harvest meal. The Colonists and Wampanoag Indians celebrated a great feast together for three days. While the great feast was never again repeated the same way, you can still celebrate the harvest through a special harvest meal. You can have a harvest meal whether you have a garden or not.
Here are a few ideas for the harvest meal:
Have the kids help prepare the meal. Ask them what they might like. Perhaps the kids can contribute some of the meal from their own gardens.
Invite others to help. Have everyone bring something from their personal gardens.
Years ago, everything was used in some way or form. Try to use everything. Roast pumpkin seeds and squash seeds for a tasty treat around the bonfire. Use the leftover pumpkin shell to carry the soup. Think of the many creative uses for corn husks. Corn can be roasted in the husk. Corn husk dolls an be made from the husks too.
Songs and stories
Singing songs around a bonfire is another harvest time tradition. The singing of songs usually is associated with summer camp. Oral story telling is a tradition that reaches far back into our human history. Before writing was available, elders of tribes would tell stories and sing songs to pass on wisdom to the younger generations.
Just about any song can be sung around the bonfire and harvest celebration. Choosing camp songs can help bring in the feel of a harvest celebration.
No matter how you choose to celebrate the harvest, have a happy one. Harvest time is a great time for coming together and enjoying the benefits of the garden.
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