Autumn History and Traditions

Scarecrows are found in almost every culture around the world in some form. Traditionally made in the shape of a man with arms held out wide, the scarecrow is dressed in old clothes and posted in a farmer's field to frighten away crows and other scavengers.

The earliest known record of these "straw men" comes from Japan in 712, where they are known as "Kuebiko"; and described as an all-knowing scarecrow-god which could not walk because he had no bones and was propped on a stick.

The cornucopia is a time-honored symbol of abundance, long associated with Thanksgiving. However, it was symbolic well before this holiday existed.

The word 'cornucopia' actually dates back to the 5th century BC. It derives from two Latin words: "cornu," meaning horn (as in the name of that one-horned creature, the "unicorn") and "copia," meaning plenty (a relative of such words as "copious" and "copy"). Thus, "cornucopia" literally means horn of plenty, and the names are used interchangeably. It was usually depicted as a curved goat's horn, filled to overflowing with fruit and grain, but could actually have been filled with whatever the owner wished.

The Japanese used the chrysanthemum as a subject for both poetry and art as a symbol of integrity and endurance, it eventually transitioned into one of the primary symbols of autumn.

In Japanese culture the dragonfly is emblematic of martial success, and victory. It is also a symbol of late summer and early autumn.

Autumn Harvest Festivals Around The World

Harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, and the Americans.

In ancient times, farmers believed that their crops were controlled by spirits which could bless the crops to grow or curse them to die. It was thought these spirits were released and destroyed when the crops were harvested. Some of the earliest harvest festivals celebrated the defeat of these spirits.

The Greeks

The ancient Greeks worshipped Demeter as the goddess of fertility, the harvest and grain. She was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn. On the third day of the celebration, a feast was held and offerings of seed corn, cakes, fruit, and pigs were made to the goddess. It was hoped that Demeter's gratitude would grant them a good harvest.

The Romans

The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival and feast every October 4th called Cerelia, which honored Ceres (from which the word cereal comes) their goddess of grains. The first fruits of the harvest were given as gifts to Ceres.

The Chinese

Each year with the full moon that falls on the 15th day of the 8th month the Chinese celebrate their mid-autumn moon festival, "Chung Ch'ui". This is considered to be the moon's birthday. Round, yellow "moon cakes" are baked and stamped with a rabbit - for legend tells of a rabbit which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon, not a man. It is believed that during the 3 day feast of roasted pig, harvested fruit and "moon cakes", that a festival of flowers falls from the moon and those who see them will be rewarded with good fortune throughout the year.

The United States

After a long, hard first year in 1621, the Pilgrim's in the New World reaped a bountiful fall harvest. Fresh fruits, corn, vegetables, and cured meat were enough to last throughout the long harsh winter ahead. At peace with their Indian neighbors, their Governor, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

This tradition of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued throughout the years and in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln officially appointed it a national holiday.