The Harvest Festival

Margot's nursery held their annual Harvest Festival today in the Anglican Church within which school is held.

The kids decorated shoe boxes and we went to Tesco and found some non-perishables to put in them. I explained to Margot that we were going to have a ceremony and offer thanks for the food and donate it to the needy. I went on about how there are people without Mommies and Daddies to make them nice meals and they go hungry. I talked about how nice it is to have a home where we can stay warm and dry. And, I reminded her that they were going to sing songs to make some needy people happy and know that they're loved. She thought about that for a minute. Then, she turns to me and says, "What do you wear to something like that?" She decided a dress might be appropriate. She thought some more. "Will there be clowns?"

So, the parents arrived at the church today and waited for the entrance of the students. They marched into the church carrying their decorated boxes with food, and they each placed their gifts on the church altar. Then, they sat in their seats lined up in front of the altar. The minister welcomed everyone and talked to the kids about food and the harvest, and the importance of saying thank you and sharing food. They fidgeted a lot. Then, the wee ones sang a bunch of food-related songs. Some yelled. Some, like Margot, sat like statues. But it was very cute.

The parents were all standing around taking photos and videos, myself included. Afterwards, one of the parents (a Brit) chastised another Mom (an American) for taking too many photos and using her Flash. He told her it was inappropriate and couldn't she just have waited at the end for a proper group shot (which never would have happened, by the way.) If his tone hadn't been so pompous, she might have let it go. Instead, she turned to him and said, "F*** you."

Ahh, so glad we're celebrating the Harvest together.