Come Ye Thankful People Come

Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of Harvest Home!

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin;

God our Maker doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;                  

Come to God's own temple, come.

Raise the Song of Harvest Home! [1]

Pennsylvania newspapers in the 21^st century are still dotted with announcements of “Harvest Home” celebrations in local churches. The phrase “Harvest Home” reportedly had its origin and tradition in the British Isles, “where ancient Celtic and Saxon rituals, harvest frolics, harvest dances, and harvest suppers celebrated the ending of the grain harvest.” [2]

Robert Wood, of the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in southeastern Pennsylvania, says “It’s safe to say that in years gone by, every Lutheran and Reformed church in Pennsylvania as well as most Mennonite meeting houses celebrated the gathering in of the harvest with a special “Harvest Home” service. To this day most of these congregations hold a Sunday service commemorating the harvest. This event in the liturgical year seems to be mainly practiced by Germanic Protestants.”

In the mid-1800s we find references to “Harvest Home” Celebrations outside the church, which Pennsylvania farmers celebrated anywhere between August and October, as the various crops were harvested.

The August 07^th, 1867, Bloomsburg Democrat reported, “On last Saturday afternoon, according to notice by handbills, the people of this County (Columbia), without respect to class, sex, or party, held a Harvest Home Celebration in Megargell’s Grove near Orangeville.

“The ground had been previously prepared with seats and a stand for the speakers; also, a very large and convenient plank floor had been laid by the people of that section, upon which to “trip the light fantastic toe.”    

In Union County, the Lewisburg Journal of Friday, August 30th, 1895 wrote, “Pertinent to the almost unprecedented crops which the Union County farmers (especially those of Dry Valley) have been blessed this year, Reverend, W.H. Schoch, Sunday, preached in the Lutheran Church, a Harvest Home sermon which was listened to with rapt attention and which doubtless gave many of his hearers a deeper conception of the innumerable benefits and favors conferred upon them by the Divine Hand. There is now no reason for the “Hard Time” cry to be heard around New Berlin for many a day.”

Again, referring to the Goschenhoppen Historians website, “Originally, among the Lutheran, Reformed, and Mennonite immigrants, the day of harvest thanksgiving involved a special church service, usually held during the week (often a Thursday) at the close of the small grain harvest. Since the ripening order of grain was first rye in early July followed by wheat and then oats in early August, most Harvest Home services were held in August. However, they could be anytime from early July to mid-October depending on each congregation’s custom and wishes. Over time, the harvest service migrated from a weekday to a regular Sunday service.

Originally, among the Lutheran, Reformed, and Mennonite immigrants, the day of harvest thanksgiving involved a special church service, usually held during the week (often a Thursday) at the close of the small grain harvest. Since the ripening order of grain was first rye in early July followed by wheat and then oats in early August, most Harvest Home services were held in August. However, they could be anytime from early July to mid-October depending on each congregation’s custom and wishes. Over time the harvest service migrated from a weekday to a regular Sunday service. 

“Throughout the twentieth century and before, the custom here was to decorate the front of the sanctuary with the bounty of field and garden as a kind of offering. Many congregations still follow this custom, but usually in a more symbolic way. 

“In the old days, the biggest pumpkins and squashes, symbolic sheaves of wheat and shocks of corn, home canning of every sort with baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits such as apples, pears, and peaches adding color were carefully arranged around the chancel.” [3] 

Pennsylvania Folklife historian Don Yoder wrote, “A special feature of the Pennsylvania Harvest Home was the special collection --- “harvest thank offering” ---which were usually a part of it. The early editorials on Harvest Home in the Lutheran and Reformed press begin to mention this offering in the 1830s and are happy to report that while a few congregations to the parish needs (the earliest custom?), generally it was shared with the church boards and given to missions, education and other benevolent causes.” [4]