Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the USA! I hope you have many things in your life to be thankful for!
Here in the UK we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we do have a Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving which dates back in different forms to the middle ages. Plays that represented the figure of Harvest with a scythe were typically performed as part of the festival, and later it came to be called Hoacky or hoky.
In early Victorian times, it was celebrated in churches on a Sunday in Autumn (there was no specific date), and associated with hymns such as ‘All things Bright and Beautiful’ which starts with the words
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
James Herriot, anyone?
I have lovely childhood memories of the school assembly for the Harvest Festival. Everyone had to bring in food and harvest products in baskets that were used to decorate the hall. Once the assembly was over, the baskets were distributed to families who were in need.
This is a far cry from the American Thanksgiving you’re celebrating, I know, but the Pilgrims at that first Thanksgiving might well have recognized it.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Meanwhile, I’d like to leave you with some pictures I took on a visit last weekend to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s house near Westerham in Kent.
There is a Jane Austen connection, of course. You’ve probably already recognized it. Yes, it has something to do with Mr. Collins.
In chapter 13 of Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet receives a letter from Collins. The address is Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent.
Would Darcy and Elizabeth have walked by this lake, I wonder?
Westerham also happens to be one of the filming locations for the 2009 Emma: Squerryes Court
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Thank you for sharing. It is beautiful. I hope to get a chance to visit.
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I hope so, too, Beth!
I used to love the harvest festival as a child. I used to help my Mum with decorating our chapel with fruit, vegetables, wheatsheaf shaped loaves of bread and corn dollies. Then after the services there and at school the food was packaged and delivered to people who needed it. Wonderful experience!
Thank you for sharing your photos, there are so many places here in the U.K. that I haven’t visited so I do enjoy these photographic journeys.
Author
Oh, I’m glad you have fond memories of the Harvest Festival as well. It’s a lovely tradition, especially knowing the food will be given to someone.
Thank you for your greetings. We should be thankful every day for small and big blessings. Hope/pray that COVID stays away for those of us traveling as that is a dire prediction.
Author
Yes, Covid always dogs our footsteps. Thankfully, I didn’t have to travel to go to Chartwell. It’s about 25 minutes from where I live.
Stay safe, Sheila!
Happy Thanksgiving to all in the U.S.! Lovely pictures and yes, I can ‘picture’ Elizabeth and Darcy walking by that lake! Hope you are keeping well, Monica.
Author
It’s a lovely lake. The walk around it is very pretty with the Autumn leaves on the paths. I’m glad you can picture them, Carole!
The pictures are beautiful, I could only image what it would look like in person. Happy Thanksgiving 👩🍳🦃💐
Author
Shelley, the grounds are lovely and there’s a great view across the Weald. If you do get a chance to visit, there are so many historical sites in the area, including Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.
Very interesting, Monica, to hear the different traditions in the UK. Thanks for sharing the pictures too!
Author
Thank you, Shannon, and have a lovely Thanksgiving.
Thank you for sharing your tradition and the lovely photos, Monica!
Author
Thank you for stopping by, Katie! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!