Has Anyone Here Renamed the Christmas Tree the Merry Tree?

I thought that was just Debenhams.

Thanksgiving, in Canada at least, is a translation of harvest festivals that come from Europe - so if there's a harvest festival, Brits are celebrating Thanksgiving in the truly authentic sense.

go with Canajun Thanksgiving - it's early in October - harvest season. Then you've got nearly three months til Christmas. It makes more sense in a lot of ways.

interestingly (?), neither is really a bingefest here. celebrations, yes, but not bingefests.

No we're not, the Harvest Festival is something that happens at the end of the harvest, and is confined to churches.

We don't celebrate anything like Thanksgiving at all. It's just wishful thinking on the part of those who think they can turn this country into the 51st State. Like American Football it won't happen. All those demonstration matches at Wembley just cause resentment, because it screws up the pitch for proper football.

In German speaking countries, Erntedankfest ("harvest thanksgiving festival") is sponsored by the Protestant/Evangelical and Catholic churches, usually on the first Sunday following Michaelistag ("St. Michael's Day", September 29).

It is primarily a rural and a religious celebration. When it is celebrated in larger cities, it is just part of a church service.

You're disagreeing for the sheer joy of disagreeing.

<shakes head>

Or maybe just disagreeable.

sheesh

that's how I first experienced it - Erntedankfest - walking in a parade of children in Hamburg giving thanks for the harvest

it's a bit different here - it is acknowledged by churches but it is not a religious celebration. It is more connected to Canada's farming heritage.

I'm not, outside of churches and schools, Harvest Festival does not occur. And there is no celebration of Thanksgiving whatsoever.

I'm not trying to be disagreeable, I'm just telling you how it is.

Same as my Jewish friends - they get a Christmas tree and call it such.

Recently a town's school committee not far from us decided to change the name of Christmas vacation to Holiday vacation so as not to offend anyone. However, no one complained or said they were offended. Several thousands of residents signed a petition to keep the school vacation called Christmas vacation as it is a highly Christian community and seeing no one complained about being offended by the name, thought it should remain the same. The school committee with lots of the residence there at the next meeting would not let anyone speak, and decided to keep it as Holiday vacation as they had voted.

Stupid waste of time - if no one has an issue with something, why not leave it the same - instead you end up offending more people - they take all the fun away from the kids.

Well, I'd posted these photos from 1914/1915 on the war thread: Erntedank in Saxony-Anhalt at that time

(last harvest)

("party")

let me say it for the first/second/third time

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival in Canada.

It came to Canada by way of the people from Europe, including Britain, who had a tradition of harvest festivals in their home countries.

Erntedankfest - thanks for the harvest

_________

I get that you don't want things where you are to be connected, by any thin thread, to things in the US.

That boat sailed, literally, hundreds of years ago.

Diwali is the best! I love the festival of lights so much.

I wasn't talking about Canada.

That doesn't alter the fact that over here Harvest festivals are not celebrated in any real way outside of churches and schools. Considering the UK is the least religious country in the world, very few people celebrate Harvest festival at all. The biggest impact it's ever had in my house it giving a tin of something to school that will then be given to the homeless. Or there might be a special on Songs Of Praise, but I don't watch that.

That's it. If you want to say that giving a tin of baked beans to your kid to take to school is the same as having all the family over for a huge Turkey dinner with all the trimmings, then that's your prerogative, but I can't see it.

Thanksgiving in Europe was celebrated when harvest was over as a rule the 29th ov September.
Thanksgiving, Ernetedank, Skördefest whatever you call it used to be really celebrated with lots and lots of food and drinking. The church did their best to forbid this heathern tradition.
So really also this tradition goes back to heathen days.

Such a Erntedank-Kranz ...

... was already used by the old Saxons (and other Germanic tribes) at the Freyr-festivities. (Adam von Bremen wrote about that in his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae Pontificum ["Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg"] about 1070.)

hahahahaha

now what to do about pagans who don't want their celebrations back?

All your celebration are belong to us

I don't think Pagans were ever as whiny as Christians over the names of their Holidays.

I dunno.
Those Canaanites could get tetchy.