Harvest Festival (August 10)

“As traditional as it might be, Thanksgiving was not the autumn highlight. For Granny and Grandpa, it paled in comparison with Harvest Festival, a kind of lower-key English Thanksgiving three weeks before its Canadian counterpart…. [but] it did have a drawback. Its September date frequently coincided with early frosts that shockingly nipped less hardy vegetables and bowed the heads of flowers still in bloom … All we could do was ignore the forecast.

Granny would roast a shoulder of lamb, and even Grandpa undertook his major culinary exploit of the year. He began by spending a cherished hour dicing candied peal and glazed marrow for a suet pudding. Granny told me she had learned to order a quarter pound extra of each. That was the amount he habitually ate from the bowl … But come what might, each year his masterpiece had pride of place as the climax of our Harvest Festival meal.”

Festive occasions punctuate the calendar in a way that gives meaning to dates and seasons which otherwise risk colourless uniformity. This holds especially true of celebrations observed only by particular families or groups. Growing up in a world marked by such occasions equips children to understand their unique identity as against the surrounding vortex of fads and fashions. Can you think of such touchstone events in your own experience, or that perhaps you have noticed among others? If so, possibly you could share an example in the comment section.

Providence Point, pp. 27-8

(Illustration generated by AI)