Celebrating Food and Family

Celebrating Food and Family

Introduction People around the world celebrate the harvest season, a time when the crops are ready to be gathered and eaten or stored for the year ahead. In the United States, people celebrate the harvest in November. This celebration is called Thanksgiving

Evan's family goes to Grandma's house. They feast on food such as turkey and pumpkin pie. Family members tell what they are thankful for, and Grandpa tells the story of the First Thanksgiving. After dinner, Evan plays with his cousins.

Yam Festival People in West Africa and the South Pacific Islands celebrate the Yam Festival. In early August, Bem and Sade and their parents gather yams from a Nigerian field. It is the end of the rainy season there. Yams are the most common food in these regions, and the first crop to be harvested in Nigeria

The night before the festival begins the children help throw out any yams left over from last year. They scrub all the pots, especially the wooden bowls in which cooked yams are mashed

The next morning, they offer the freshly harvested yams to the gods and their ancestors in special ceremonies. This is the way they thank the spirits for a good crop. No one eats any new yams until this is done. After the ceremonies, yams are divided among the villagers. Everyone cooks dishes made with yams and other vegetables. The festival lasts many days in Bem and Sade's village