Harvest festival

Description

The harvest festival takes place as soon as the last field has been harvested. The marketplace is decorated in autumnal colors and a kind of altar is set up in the middle. At the beginning of the festival, each inhabitant brings a piece of the harvest. The amount depends on the yield. The priest blesses it and it is then placed on a pile of wood.
After the last inhabitant has sacrificed his harvest, there are the animal sacrifices. One of each animal species is blessed before the priest kills the animal and collects its blood in a bowl. He pours the collected blood over the harvest on the woodpile. After the last animal, everyone gathers around the woodpile and prays while the priest lights the woodpile on fire. Through the smoke, the sacrifices and prayers are sent to the goddess of harvest and fertility.
At the end of the prayers, various dishes are served in the marketplace. After a communal meal, there is singing and dancing.

Meaning

The sacrifices are made to thank the goddess for the harvest and to ask for protection from bad harvests and sick animals. As she is also the goddess of fertility, women ask her for protection for their children and that they are spared from illness.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic