The harvest is a holiday? Harvest Festival in the Church

There are many holidays, which are celebrated by different Christian denominations. The Orthodox Church is breaking records in this. All the holidays that are celebrated there, in their sum, are about half a calendar year. There are also holidays, the same for all, - this is the great day of the Resurrection of Christ (Easter), as well as the Nativity of Christ. The third common for all festive days is the Harvest - it is, more simply to say, Thanksgiving Day. The harvest is always celebrated in the beginning of autumn, after the harvest.

Where does this holiday originate from?

In ancient times this holiday was considered one of the most significant for the whole year. Since agriculture was practically the only source of food, people valued each vegetable and fruit cultivated on the ground. Even our ancestors - pagans, who had no idea about God, and especially Christianity, revered the land, called her mother and offered her a sacrifice in gratitude for everything she gave at the end of the summer.

The very first mention of gratitude for food is written on the pages of the Bible a little later than the creation of the world, when two brothers (descended from the first people on Earth) sacrificed food to God. By this, they thanked Him for having something to eat and do.

Since man is a social being, he can not exist in a limited and isolated space. Therefore, we have to build communication in communication with people. This can not be done without the habit of thanking for the attention, help and much more.

So in a more global context. To us, nature, God yields every year in large quantities, so we must have a grateful heart.

How did the Jews celebrate it?

The Jews knew that the all-seeing God was waiting for sincere thanksgiving. For this reason, Cain's gift was rejected, because he concealed envy in his heart, and not gratitude. God does not depend on people in any way. He is self-sufficient, therefore, granting a person life and everything for life, He expects that the first fruits people will bring Him as a token of gratitude. When God told His people how to live, He gave direct instructions about the Harvest Festival. In the book of Exodus, a direct command is written about the need to observe and observe this feast (here it is first mentioned that harvest is harvesting the first harvest from seeded on the field). Then later, in Deuteronomy, we can see how the Jews celebrated this holiday. It says that you need to count 7 weeks from the time when the first harvest begins on the field. After this, the Harvest days come, the time when people collect all the best in one place (as much as the person himself wants to give), then rejoices and thanks God. This was done so that every Israeli would remember that he was in slavery to the Egyptians, and now he has his own land and harvest.

Harvest in the Protestant Church

Today, many churches celebrate and wait for the Harvest. There is not a single spiritual teaching that rejects gratitude. Christians, having faith in God, are convinced that everything in their lives is sent from Him. Even if we do not take material things, very much is given to us for a comfortable life for nothing. There are wonderful words about the material: you can buy medicines, but you can not buy health; A bed, but not a dream; Food, but not appetite; As well as affection, but not love. We every day receive sunlight, feel the coolness of the wind, enjoy the rain, walk in the snow, admire the autumn painting on the leaves and the patterns from the frost on the glasses. Christians know that every moment is valuable, and there is no time for grumbling or discontent. It is realizing the gifts of God in their lives, believing people thank for them every day, and especially on the Feast of Harvest in the church.

Each church is distinguished by its traditions of celebrating this day. Some of them have a certain day on the calendar, many Christian communities celebrate with dinner and tea drinking, thereby feeding hungry and needy people. Also, the feature of the Harvest is almost a design decoration of the church: from the products brought by parishioners, still-lives, compositions, thematic creations are created. Everything that is possible in the assembly hall is decorated, but special attention is paid to the space in front of the chair (a special place for sermons and precepts).

Harvest for US residents

For residents of North America, the Harvest is generally a national holiday. True, there he wears a slightly different name - Thanksgiving Day, which in our language means Thanksgiving Day.

In these countries, the holiday starts from the very antiquity, when the English immigrants arrived to the mainland, it was in 1620. On a frosty November day, having overcome a very difficult path across the ocean, after suffering a severe storm, settlers landed on the shore and established the Plymouth colony on the territory of the present state of Massachusetts. Winter that year was very severe, frosty and windy. Arrived people, not having well-equipped premises for living, very difficult to adapt to the new conditions. Almost half of the displaced people died (there were about 100 of them). In the spring, when the survivors began to cultivate the soil, it turned out that it was stony and not adapted to farming. But what was their surprise, when after a while they got a very good harvest from all planted. Wishing to share the joy, the first governor of the settlers Bradford organized a day of gratitude to the Lord. In the autumn of 1621, together with the invited 90 local Indians, the colonists arranged a Thanksgiving feast, sharing a meal with the guests. Subsequently, this holiday became national and state on the mainland, despite the fact that the Harvest is a Christian holiday.

Orthodox interpretation of Thanksgiving Day

Although Orthodox believers do not define any of their holidays as a Harvest, they also have the days of thanksgiving of God for the harvest and His gifts to the people. In this religion, the days of Harvest are some festivals in which products and harvesting are mentioned. Such days include the Honey Spas, the Bread Savior, the Apple Savior and some others. These holidays fall out at a time when agricultural work ends in the fields, this is the period from early August to early October. These days, Christians of this faith also thank God for everything that they have in the new harvest, for strength, health and sustenance. And also very closely such holidays echo with the people's perceptions. For example, everyone knows the saying: "Honey Spas, prepare the gloves in stock." That is, in this way they draw an analogy with Christian holidays and people's observations of the weather.

How do celebrate the holiday now?

In our age of modern technology and creative thinking, there are still people who attribute nature gifts not to their automated work, but to God's blessing for people. Now the Harvest is a holiday that has two meanings. First, thanks to the Lord for multiplying the number of planted products by several times. No wonder the Bible says: "... what you sow, then reap ... abundantly sow - reap abundantly, sparingly sow, scant and reap ..." So it turns out: a man plant a bucket of potatoes, get 10 buckets, plant a ton , Will receive 10 tons. The second meaning is the summarizing of some of its actions and thoughts, as well as an assessment of the way of life. The Christian Harvest presupposes people's assessment of how their life conforms to the Biblical principles, whether they act the way Christ taught.

Why is it important to thank?

Thankful heart is always in price. Who wants to do something for you if you take it for granted? All are grateful for the good deed. Christians believe that everything that they have in life is sent by God. And indeed, rain does not depend on us in early June, which are vitally important for all plants. Even the best watering does not replace a good June rain! It does not depend on us the amount of solar heat and light, which are also a food for our vegetables and fruits. We do not regulate frosts in early April, which can kill the nascent life in the kidneys. For the timely rains, the opportunity to plant and harvest crops, Christians should thank the One who provides all this. Therefore, the Harvest Festival was introduced.

If we take into account only the scientific aspect of gratitude, then scientists have long proved the fact that contentment with life determines its quality. It takes into account the state of health (among grateful people it is much better), and activity, as well as close friendships and success in professional activities.

Harvest: the significance of the feast on the spiritual level

Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated not only for the purpose of eating, bringing the best fruits and communicating (although this is important). Even Christians pay special attention to the spiritual component of this day. The Harvest Festival in the church is held in order to remind parishioners of what we sow in life. On this day, everyone asks himself: "Am I sowing good in relationships with others? Is there love in people around me, patience, mercy, compassion, because these qualities are very necessary for people now?" etc.

What does the Bible say about the Harvest?

A lot of attention in the Bible is given to the spiritual significance of the holiday. There are so many references to different books that somehow reveal the significance of this day. The Harvest Festival is also covered in the Holy Book as the end of the century. There the question of the soul is raised: the fall of life is coming, soon man will have to die, where will his soul be after death? The Bible draws the attention of all people to the fact that everyone must be saved. That is, one has to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for each sinner, so that believing in Him, a person would enter paradise, and not into hell.