With the gathering of grain, vegetables and fruit, harvest is a time to celebrate and enjoy nature’s abundance.
Feasts connected to harvest are mentioned in the Bible. The Feast of Weeks (Shavout) marked the first fruits of harvest and the Feast of Ingathering (Sukkot) marked the end of harvest. In the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Ingathering finishes on the 21st day of the 7th month (Tishrei), which falls between late September and late October.
There is no set day for harvest festivals. In the UK they are usually held in September or October. Particularly in rural areas, harvest festivals are great occasions, along with Christmas and Easter, when people who don’t normally attend church go along. Food on display is given to the needy, auctioned for charity or delivered to a local food bank.
Harvest festivals are held on Sundays in all the churches in the Bodmin Team, offering a welcome to everyone. September 18, 9.45am at St Hydroc’s, Lanhydrock; October 2, 11am at Lanivet Church; October 9, 10am at St Petroc’s, Bodmin; October 16, for a 3pm joint service at Millpool Methodist Church and harvest Evensong, 6pm at St Stephen’s, Nanstallon.
Another harvest celebration at Lanivet is the village scarecrow festival, lasting a whole week from Sunday September 25 to October 2. This year’s theme is pantomimes. A winner’s cup for the best scarecrow is presented at a BBQ on Sunday October 2, 3.30pm at the Lanivet Inn.
The Bodmin Way walk for harvest is on Thursday October 6, leaving St Stephen’s Church, Nanstallon at 2pm. Everyone is welcome to come along on this leisurely 3-mile stroll, with steep sections, followed by refreshments at the church; dogs are welcome too. We will be sure to look out for heavy laden grapevines as we walk along the Camel Trail.