There will also be other creative and adventures activities like sea-themed art exhibitions, kayaking, paddle boarding, sea creature hunts and many more things to do in two weeks.The UK Harvest Festival predates Christianity, Corn-dolls are made as a symbol of good crops. The name has stuck, despite all the revisions of interpretation made by later historians.In 1863, the farmer of Little Somborne Farm in Hampshire wrote in his diary: “Began harvest on the 2nd August and up to the 25th the weather was delightful, which enabled us to get a splendid wheat crop saved in the best of order and a great portion of barley and oats.” The weather broke at the end of August, but it did not spoil the harvest, which, according to many accounts from around the country, was the best crop of wheat for about 30 years.Sign up to receive our newsletter!By looking back through the history and customs associated with harvest we can see why it is such a crucial date in the country calendar, says Duncan HaskellListen to the latest episodes from our country podcastSheaves were gathered into stooks, between six and 10 sheaves leaning against each other to allow drying air to flow though. Even during the pre-mechanised past it would be incorrect to suggest that there was a uniform approach to harvest or a common set of beliefs and customs, there were vast regional differences throughout the country. It was this final part of the day that caused consternation among the respectable classes – “unrestrained riot and excess” was how the celebration of 1867 was described in the Essex parish of Foxearth. As the name suggests, Harvest Festival is celebrated around harvest time. Scythes and bagging hooks were bigger and cut with a swishing, mowing action, rather than the sawing of the small-bladed sickle, so the crop was cut more quickly. Harvest Festival at Tatton Park. Our best wishes for a productive day.Normally falling towards the end of September, or early October, the harvest festival is the closest thing we have to a day of thanksgiving. He was growing more cereals in the 1860s than 30-40 years earlier, so needed the extra output of the scythe and bagging hook. It was all manual work still; the first machines to lift hay and straw into a stack were introduced in 1863. The festival is also about giving thanks for all the good and positive things in our lives such as family and friendships.. A descendent of the Roman goddess of grain Ceres, it came to be known by a variety of names such as ‘The Maiden’, ‘The Neck’ and ‘The Mare’ and once scythed would be made into a symbolic corn doll. The people also drink and dance while enjoying the harvest season as they waited a whole year for the crops to be harvested.The farmer families come together and have a huge feast and churches and schools and houses are decorated with garlands of flowers and colourful vibrant ribbons. The ‘Irish mow’ in south-west England was a pile of 20 sheaves. This means many celebrated the Harvest Festival on Sunday September 18 but many will be celebrating it on other Sundays throughout the month.There are some customs and traditions including Lammas Day on August 1 where people are encouraged to take a loaf of bread to their church service to celebrate the reaping of the crops.Traditionally huge feasts are shared among family and friends but in more recent years the festival has become about sharing with those less fortunate than ourselves or raising money for charity.St Michael’s Mass on September 29 celebrates the end of the harvest season and is celebrated with a huge feast. The higher cutting rate also increased pressure on workers following behind the cutters, for there was fine division of labour. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. In the Welsh Borders these straws would be tied into four bunches, to represent the legs of a horse, before the sickle-throwing commenced. The word harvest is derived from Old English hærfest, which means Autumn when the reaping of food from the land is done. Describing the character of a typical farmer, it says:Nowadays the festival is held at the end of harvest, which varies in different parts of Britain.