This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Ithaca Apple Fest. I had also gone last year, and was reminded of similar (though smaller) fall festivals from my childhood in Ohio. The attachment to apples in particular gave me waves of nostalgia. However, this year I want to focus on some thoughts concerning the nature of an agricultural harvest and the benefits it might bring to a community. I am speaking purely from the cuff, here. There is actual research that could (and, I think, should) be done relating to the mere conjectures that are about to follow.
What got me pondering the relationship between the concept of the fall harvest and the surrounding community was a combination of two factors. First was the presence of an Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch stand selling some of the best donuts I’ve ever had. Second was the rumination on the relatively small size of the town of Ithaca.
The idea that the harvest of the year’s crop is the focal point for much of a society is, as I understand it, somewhat universal to human cultures. Those cultures that engage in agricultural practices come quickly to depend on the cycle of the harvest in order to survive, and from that necessity comes a plethora of artifacts. Festivals to celebrate the harvest itself, as well as religious rites to promote a good harvest in the future or to give thanks for a good harvest, in order that it might happen again. Saturn, Demeter, Renenutet, Sheji, and Tlaloc (please correct me if I’ve misunderstood the role of any of these in their respective religions) can all be imagined as arising out of this intrinsic need for a bountiful crop in order to keep the society functioning. Some cultures even worship or worshiped the seasonal change directly, as I understand.
With how ancient and essential this idea of a harvest festival seems, then, it was remarkable to see how many young individuals there were at Apple fest. Truly, what was remarkable was how a huge portion of the population of Ithaca seemed represented (not a huge feet, given its small size, but still it was remarkable). But focusing again on the presence of youth, there is in that, so to speak, a return to form. This looking back towards our traditions and rearranging them for modern consumption is not unique to the harvest, either. But this is worth celebrating, I think. Events like this, in my opinion, do draw a community together. And self supporting and friendly communities are all the more important as cruel intentions from despicable individuals at the highest levels of society make us (justifiably) angrier and angrier.
I like your take on harvest festivals being a universal human cultural feature. An exception would probably be hunter-gatherer societies that, of course, don’t harvest anything. So while harvest festivals often are often very old traditions, they are still cultural and not innately human. I’m sure the desire for different celebrations is universally human though, probably because people like having excuses to have fun, socialize, and eat a lot. As you note, youths especially like those activities, so they are more likely to be drawn to festival activities, while older people might be more inclined to smaller gatherings.