Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration 2014

drawn by ARI volunteer: Noriko
Designed by ARI Participants: Titus and Collins

Every October, Asian Rural Institute holds a celebration to give thanks for the harvests of the year like many rural communities around the world do. This past weekend the event finally took place.

Photo by: Meg
HTC banner, with Antonio from East Timor

Photo by: Shige or Kazu? All photos below, unless otherwise noted, is from them.

 The main attraction was the food, of course! We had so many different dishes from either Japan or countries the Participants hail from. Soooo nice. They ranged from sweet dishes to hot winter soups. There were stage performances, games to play, and cultural handicrafts to buy from the Participants. I was part of the committee that organized the games and ARI information exhibit. Leading one of the games for Japanese children really made me overuse the word Gambatte (English translation: go for it!) since my Japanese speaking ability is non-existent. The committee tried organizing group games, but learned quickly that a quick game of darts or toppling cans with rubber bands were the most successful. A game of treasure hunting or Fruit Basket just did not work out. I learned my lesson for next year. 

   I participated in 5 performances, one of which was a fashion show where I wore a tux... and the others were the Hokkaido Fisherman dance, Solomon Island Fisherman dance, small instrumental ensemble performance of two hymns, and the Macarena dance (the Americans did this one, which strangely enough included the Cuban ARI Participant).

   The ARI community spent 2 months planning for this, which was essentially part of the Participants' training for the Rural Leaders Training Program. Even though all ARI community members helped plan it, the Participants led the organizing. I tell ya, everything at ARI is essential to the Participants' training, including the necessary daily dish washing.

The stress came about 3 or 4 weeks before the event when our decisions were becoming finalized and things had to really get done. It was stressful because neither the volunteers nor the Participants had ever experienced HTC before. But, really, how can a community plan a big event that will draw hundreds of people in two days without experiencing stress? One of the Participants reflected nicely on her experience with HTC, relating it to rural leadership in the community. 

   Anyhow, I want to talk a little bit about the importance of thanksgiving festivals and celebrations. I'm not speaking of the American Thanksgiving holiday, with Turkey and mashed potatoes, or the Fall festivals, but the event that I just described above. One staffer at ARI has expressed that HTC is not a festival, but a celebration of thanks to God. I think its more than that. This kind of celebration has deeper intention and real meaning to it. the farmers that grew the food need to express the abundance of food they grew because it was not easy to do. They are not just saying thank you to their god for the food on their plate, they are implicitly (and even intentionally) acknowledging the hard work that they put into their valuable labor. It seems that food is a primary link which keeps a rural community together. Most of those living in rural communities are farmers, and they are there first to survive, and then to make a living. Food is life, and food is community. 

   In the US we have Fall festivals and Thanksgiving. Both appear to have roots in harvest celebrations, and I think we should acknowledge those roots. It provides space for our biophilia, so our connection with the Earth is not deprived. Harvest is intrinsically valuable because it means life, and you know this even though you may go shopping in the supermarket not seeing the soil that once stained your food. Human beings cannot survive without harvesting (whether in agriculture or hunting and gathering). When attending Fall festivals, my instant association is hot food for cold weather, crafts, harvested apples, corn, hay, music, and community. It makes me feel part of the community, too. When you go to one this Fall, ask yourself why we continue to participate in, and organize such events. Make it intentional to attend your community's Fall festival, too. 

Photo by: Meg
HTC Party, post-celebration

So, we had a short party after HTC and supper. It was to say thank you to everyone who made it happen. I liked it, but was socially exhausted to be fully in the moment there. We danced again to some of the performances that took place during the day, such as the Hokkaido Fisherman dance shown above. That dance is sooooo nice when 20+ people do it together.

Yeah, so this is the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration. 

Peace