Harvest is time to celebrate. In many parts of the world after months of toiling in their fields, the farmers celebrate with joy and gratitude. Special dishes are cooked and offered to the gods followed by feasting, singing and dancing. It is time for family and friends to get together. Here are a few harvest festivals. In Bali, Dewi Sri is venerated. Small dolls of rice stalks representing the rice goddess are placed in granaries as offerings. Sukkot celebrates Israel’s bountiful harvests. Wands of willow, myrtle, and palm, together with a citron are shaken every day to honor the gifts from the land. In India Harvest is celebrated in myriads of ways all over the country. To name a few: Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Onam in Kerala, and Lohri in Punjab. For the OK Om Bok Festival, the Khmer people of Vietnam prepare special dishes, and release lit-up paper lanterns into the sky. People make wishes and send off their lanterns believing that their troubles will glide away and that their wishes will come true.
