http://www.onegreenplanet.org/uncategorized/ten-amazing-harvest-festivals-from-around-the-world/
1. Samhain – No, we’re not talking about the band Glenn Danzig formed after leaving the Misfits! Samhain means “summers end” and is a festival of Celtic or Gaelic origins, It is celebrated worldwide by Wiccans and Pagans to mark the beginning of winter and to remember the dead. Samhain recognizes the cycles of nature, death and renewal, and marks the beginning of the new harvest year by the burning of bonfires. It was later taken over by Catholicism as All-Souls day or Halloween. Like Halloween, carved pumpkins are a feature of Samhain festivities.
2. Choosuk — A Korean Festival held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, during the harvest season. Families attend ancestral memorials at the graves of their relatives, and give thanks. On Choosuk eve, women gather and sing traditional songs, men engage in wrestling matches and there is a grand feast, where moon cakes are a favorite. In 2010, the North Korean Red Cross offered South Korea the chance for family reunions, allowing families who had been separated since 1945 to reunite for six days around Choosuk.
3. Yam Festival – a West African tradition, the Festival of Yams is held at the beginning of August to mark the end of the rainy season. The festival is a public holiday in Ghana and Nigeria. It is sometimes called the ‘Homowo’ or ‘Hoot at Hunger’. Yams are offered to the gods and eaten amidst celebrations. There are parades, drumming, dancing and singing, and of course, eating of yams in a traditional dish called Fufu.
4. Niiname-sai – Meaning “Celebrations of the First Taste”, Niiname-sai is a Shinto rice festival held yearly in Japan, since World War II Niiname-sai is known as Labor Thanksgiving Day. During the ceremonies the Emperor must offer up some of the harvest to the spirits and make the first taste of the years rice harvest while praying for a healthy crop in the new year.
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