Question

Every November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday memorializes the abundant harvest of 1621. Every June 24, Andean communities throughout South America celebrate Inti Raymi. This harvest festival honors the Inca sun god, Inti, who is believed to help produce the year's crops. And all across Asia, the moon is the honoree during the Moon Festival. This annual celebration marks the autumnal full moon. Its light ushers in harvest season.These holidays come from vastly different cultures. However, they express a common sentiment: humankind's enduring gratitude for nature's bounty. Like most harvest celebrations, they began at a time when the crops people grew meant the difference between life and death. No wonder many early societies created holidays around harvests. That way, people could express their hope for sufficient crops and their joy at reaping them before winter.Inti Raymi, or Festival of the Sun, started in the 15th century. It was held in the Inca capital city of Cusco, located in modern-day Peru. The day is celebrated in many South American countries; however, the festival in Cusco is the main event. Its date, June 24, had great significance to the Inca people. It's the winter solstice, the day when South America is farthest from the sun. (At around that time, it's the summer solstice in North America.) Thereafter, the days would get longer, and the next growing season would soon commence. The 24th was also the Inca New Year.Inti Raymi in Cusco traditionally begins with an early-morning ceremony at the ancient Inca Temple of the Sun. What follows is a day of feasts, music and dance, theatricals, and processions. The importance of Inti Raymi to descendants of the Inca shows in its endurance. In 1572, the festival was prohibited by Spanish colonizers. However, it started up again in 1944. Now, it's the second-largest festival in South America.The moon figures prominently in many Asian cultures. This is true both for their harvest celebrations and the Chinese calendar. These are linked in the Moon Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. (That's around mid-September.) On that night, the autumnal full moon would rise as the season's wheat and rice were being reaped. The festival was first celebrated over 3,000 years ago. Its purpose has remained constant: to thank the moon for this year's harvest and to beseech it for an extra-abundant one next year.The Moon Festival is celebrated in China, Japan, and many other countries in the region. Like Thanksgiving, it's a time for family get-togethers, often on rooftops at night so that everyone can gaze at the moon. The activities generally include burning candles, lighting lanterns, and eating mooncakes. These tasty pastries are filled with a duck egg yolk symbolizing the full moon.Thanksgiving, Inti Raymi, and the Moon Festival are only three harvesttime celebrations. There are many others, like Baisakhi in India and yam festivals in West Africa. They're all expressions of gratitude from people who knew that healthy harvests meant survival.Think about and discuss these questions:What is one way harvest festivals are alike? Quote a passage from the article that supports your idea.Think about the foods you eat. What is a crop that you are grateful for?Question 1 1 / 8The article talks mainly about __________.the history of American Thanksgivingfoods eaten at harvest festivals worldwidethe history of the Inca capital city of Cuscoways different cultures celebrate the harvest

Answer 1

ways different cultures celebrate the harvest

The article describes Thanksgiving, Inti Raymi, and the Moon Festival and how they all express gratitude for the harvest.