List of harvest festivals

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in Victoria Park, Hong Kong

This is a list of harvest festivals around the world. A harvest festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given regional differences in climates and crops, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world.

Africa[]

Ikore: celebrated by the Yoruba people in Nigeria
Homowo: a harvest festival^[1] celebrated by the Ga people of Ghana.
Incwala: celebrated by the people of Swaziland
New Yam Festival (Iwa ji): celebrated by the Igbo of Nigeria
Umkhosi Wokweshwama: celebrated by the Zulu people of South Africa

Asia[]

East Asia[]

Chuseok: Korea
Dongmaeng: Korea
Mid-Autumn Festival: China; the eighth full moon according to the lunar calendar
Niiname-sai, Shinjō-sai, Honen Matsuri, Tsukimi: Japan

Indian subcontinent[]

A traditional vishu kani setting, for the Vishu agricultural festival

Akhatrij (Akshaya Tritiya): celebrated in West India, especially the Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa and Konkan regions
Nuakhai (Nuakhai): celebrated in Odisha, to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the Kosali calendar it is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhaadra (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Bhogali Bihu (or Magh Bihu): Assam, marks the end of harvesting season in mid-January
Chavang Kut: celebrated by the Kuki-chin group in North-east India on 1 November
Deepoli Parba: celebrated by the Tuluva people from Karnataka/Kerala, India
Dree Festival: agricultural festival of the Apatanis of Ziro valley in Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh, celebrated from 4 to 7 July
Gudi Padwa: celebrated by the Marathi people in Maharashtra, Karnataka, India
Holi: Northwest India, especially Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat
JurShital: Mithila (portion of Bihar and Nepal); 13 or 14 April
Kanyarkali: agricultural festival of the Malayalee Moothan, Nair and Tharakan communities of Chittur and Alathur thaluks of Palakkad in Kerala, India
Lohri: North India, especially Punjab
Monti Fest: celebrated on 8 September; celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; in the Mangalorean Catholic community involves blessing of Novem (new crops)
Nabanna: Bengal region which comprises West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh
Onam and Vishu: agricultural festivals celebrated by Malayali people in Kerala and elsewhere in the world
Pongal: celebrated by the Tamil people in Tamil Nadu, India and other places
Puthari / Huthari: Coorg, Karnataka in south India
Sankranthi or Makar Sankranti: almost all regions of India, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; celebrated in January; goes by different names in different states
Traditional New Year: celebration in Sri Lanka coincides with the harvest festival in mid-April
Ugadi: celebrated by Telugu people in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kannadigas in Karnataka, India
Agera: celebrated by East Indians in Mumbai; falls on the first Sunday of October.
Vishu is the harvest festival in Kerala and celebrated in April - usually April 14 or 15
Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi: celebrated by Punjabi people in Punjab, other parts of North India and elsewhere; falls on the first day of Vaisakh month (usually mid-April), and marks the Punjabi New Year
Pola or Without Amavasya: Celebrated by the farmers of Maharashtra on the last day of month of Shravan. Bullock worship is performed on this day.
Vasant Panchami: West India, especially Gujarat; celebrated in Nepal, West Bengal, and Bangladesh to invoke wisdom and consciousness; in the Punjab region, it is celebrated as the Basant Festival of kites
Tokhu Emong: celebrated among Lotha Tribe of Nagaland in India

Southeast Asia[]

Pacu jawi (bull race), Tanah Datar, Indonesia

Flores de Mayo: Philippines
Gawai Dayak: Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimtan, Indonesia
Kaamatan: Sabah in Malaysia
Kadayawan: Davao City, Philippines
Khuado: Zomi, Chin State, Myanmar^[2]
Maras Taun: Belitung, Indonesia
Pacu jawi: Tanah Datar, Indonesia
Pahiyás: Lucban, Philippines
Tết Trung Thu: Vietnam

Middle East[]

Hasyl toýy (or Hasyl Bayramy): Turkmenistan: traditionally last Sunday in November; observed second Sunday of November^[3] since specified in the Labor Code c. 2017
Mehregan: Iran, Ancient Persia; 2 October
Sukkot: Jewish harvest festival lasting eight days in the autumn, in which time is spent in tabernacles or booths
Shavuot: Jewish harvest festival marking the wheat harvest in Israel
Alaverdoba and Rtveli: Georgia

Europe[]

Decoration for ‘thanksgiving’ (Erntedank) in a Catholic church in Upper Austria.

Bagach (Багач): Belarus
Bénichon: celebrated (usually by a huge seven-course menu) in Catholic parts of the French-speaking Switzerland; a combined harvest festival, thanksgiving and Rindya (the day when the animals are brought back from the high altitude pastures in the Alps and when all villagers are also therefore back); see fr:Bénichon
Dankdag voor Gewas en Arbeid: Netherlands, every first Wednesday of November; Thanksgiving Day for crop and labor
Dożynki: Poland / Dazhynki: Belarus^[4] / Dožínky, Obžinky: Czech Republic / Обжинки (Obzhynky or Obzhynky): Ukraine / Обжинки (Obzhynki), Осенины (Oseniny) : Russia, a Slavic harvest festival celebrated in several central and eastern European countries
Erntedankfest (Harvest Thanksgiving): Germany and Austria; traditionally on the first Sunday after Michaelmas, this means 30 September or later. At present, Protestant and Catholic churches recommend the first Sunday in October.
- Erntedankfest Düsseldorf-Urdenbach
Festa e Grurit (Wheat Festival): used to mark the end of the harvest of wheat in Communist Albania; no longer observed
Freyfaxi (August 1): marks the beginning of the harvest in Norse paganism; historically from Iceland, the celebration consists of blót, horse races, martial sports, and other events, often dedicated to the god Freyr
Guldize: Cornwall, United Kingdom
Harvest festival: United Kingdom
Kekri: an old Finnish feast celebrated at the beginning of November, corresponding to Halloween
Lammas or Lughnasadh: celebration of first harvest/grain harvest in Paganism and Wicca spirituality and by the ancient Celts; 1 August
Mabon (Autumnal Equinox): the second of three recognized harvest sabbats in Paganism and Wicca
Mhellia: Isle of Man
Miķeļdiena: harvest festival in Latvia; 29 September; signals the end of summer (Mikeli)

National Harvest Thanksgiving ceremony in Poland's Jasna Góra Roman Catholic sanctuary in Częstochowa, Poland

Presidential Harvest Festival in Spala, Poland

Прачыстая 'Prachystaya': Belarus
The Presidential Harvest Festival in Spała and Jasna Góra Harvest Festival: Poland, first week of September to begin the first week of October
Samhain: the third and final of three recognized harvest sabbats in Paganism and Wicca; celebration of the end of the harvest season and beginning of the Celtic New Year; 31 October
Savior of the Apple Feast Day: Russia, Ukraine; 19 August
Spice wreath / Cununa de spice: Romania; July
Szüreti Fesztivál or Szüreti Napok: literally "harvest festival" or "harvest days"; celebrated in various rural towns of Hungary
Timoleague: annual harvest festival held in August; Tigh Molaige in Irish

The Americas[]

Annual Harvest Festival: Prosser, Washington; 4th full weekend in September
Dozinky: New Prague, Minnesota; traditional Czech festival
Thanksgiving (Quebec: Action de grâce): Canada; second Monday in October
Thanksgiving: United States; fourth Thursday in November
Old Home Week: New England region of the United States; variable date in the fall season