The planets Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

When I visited the small church of Arnis, which is situated at the Schlei in Northeastern Schleswig-Holstein, I saw this interesting decoration on the occasion of the “Erntedankfest” on the church’s floor. The pumpkin was arranged as a sun surrounded by the other fruits as planets and stars.
“Erntedankfest”is a harvest festival of thanks, similar to Thanksgiving but different in many ways from that in North America which is a historically recent development. First of all, the German “Erntedankfest” is primarily a rural and a religious celebration. When it is celebrated in larger cities, it is usually part of a church service and not anything like the big traditional family holiday in North America. Although it is celebrated locally and regionally, none of the German-speaking countries observes an official national Thanksgiving holiday on a particular day, as in Canada or the U.S.
The custom of decorating churches with homegrown products is very popular. In the old times, the success of crops determined the success or failure of the people and therefore it was necessary for the natives to please the God of fertility by offering him the first sheaf of corn. Only few people in the Western Hemisphere are still aware of the true meaning of this custom. In a time when many people just go to the supermarket and buy whatever takes their fancy, it is not surprising that people don't seem to be aware of how much time and effort it takes to grow plants from seed to the fruits and vegetables they buy, because nowadays all of these are available all year round.

saxo042, fanni, Buin, papagolf21, JCG, Gerrit, Cretense, gracious, claudeD, Vasa, shevchenko, rginer, scroller, Royaldevon, LamCam, feather, macondo, gunbud, holmertz, bracasha75, Bluejeans, maloutim trouve(nt) cette note utile

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fanni (8791) 2008-11-26 11:09

Hello Harriet,
bright colourful composition, interesting note accompanying the photo! This is very informative, and I think many people don't know about this tradition.

I know t"Erntedankfest" well although I live in Orthodox Russia ;) For 10 years I used to be a regular church-goer to the only German Lutheran church in Moscow (which was handed over to the local German parish in 1991). Before 1991 there was a cartoon studio in it - can you imagine??

Anyway, concerning "Erntedankfest", I remember such scenes very well, it always was in late autumn. I did not take part in the fest but I remember the vegetables, fruits etc which people brought to the church. How funny it is sometimes that you know something and one day it turns out to be useful :)

Thanks for the photo, this brings back some almost nostalgic memories of the past!
kind regards,
Elena

saxo042 (16164) 2008-11-26 11:16

Hi Harriet,
A very interesting note and a marvellous photo. All these bright coloured fruits are perfectly arranged, as the solar system! To celebrate the harvesting season with "thanks-giving" festivals were probably very common everywhere.
Best regards
Gunnar

COSTANTINO (23105) 2008-11-26 11:48

Hello Harriet,
I like the subject of your photo about the custom of decorating churches with
homegrown products..
An impressive and interesting photo
with many useful notes..
Colourful composition,very interesting
for people who brought vegetables fruits
to the church..
thanks for sharing again
regards
Costantino

Buin (38136) 2008-11-26 11:59

Hallo Harriet!
In Arnis war ich schon ... ein Ort, der irgendwie ruhig macht.
Ein schönes farbenfrohes Foto mit vielen Formen und Strukturen. Der Herbst in voller Pracht. Schon als thumbnail ein "Hingucker" ;-) Das Richtige bei diesem Wetter!
Grüße aus dem nasskaltgrauen Westfalen!
Frank

jurek1951 (26072) 2008-11-26 13:25

Hi Harriet,
Gefällt mir super.
Schön ins Licht gesetzt und einen tollen Schärfeverlauf gewählt.
Georg

papagolf21 (56623) 2008-11-26 13:48

Bonsoir, chère Harriet,
La planète bleue recèle de trésors. Depuis toujours elle nous porte, nous offre ses richesses et subit en retour les actes de notre espèce. Hymne ou mea culpa, rendons hommage à la Terre...
Félicitations Harriet de cette très originale composition.
Amitiés.
Philippe

JCG (25687) 2008-11-26 22:14

Hi Harriet,

Finally it is a certain homage to the benefits of nature this custom. A beautiful and coloured composition. Very pretty arrangement of these fruits and cucurbitaceous. Beautiful glance and thank you for your interesting note.

With all my friendships and a very good day,

Jean-Charles

danyy (69319) 2008-11-26 23:33

Bonjour Harriet,
une composition très colorée et remplie de détails.
Tu as bien fait de décentrer l'élément le plus gros, il attire de suite l'oeil et ferait vite oublier le reste.
Regards
Daniel.

Gerrit (36127) 2008-11-27 0:32

Hi Harriet,
interesting tradition. The autumnal table looks fine with all those leaves, berries, nuts and fruits,
Good work.
Regards, Gerrit

Cretense (56866) 2008-11-27 3:08

Hi Harriet!

Beautiful photo of "cosmology", great framing and composition, brilliant colours! Which one is planet Earth? Great idea and realization!

Hercules

gracious (20017) 2008-11-27 9:17

Hello dear friend Harriet,
Thank you for this lovely image and the great notes about the occasion in Germany!
Very meaningful setup of the universe that it gives good harvest to us for food!
very cheerful image with warm colour and details
take care and regards
Tony

claudeD (11422) 2008-11-27 9:55

Hello Harriet,
A very interesting photo. All these coloured fruits are perfectly arranged.Thank you for your informative note.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

Jean-Claude

jmdias (19729) 2008-11-27 15:38

harriet

yes, it is a very interesting and beautiful composition (the artwork itself) and your work showing nicely this in a photo. Nice colors, pov, framing and color and light. yes, people in big towns haven't idea how difficult is to produce food

hugs

jorge

Vasa (6126) 2008-11-27 16:29

Danke sehr, dear Harreit for this offer. My choice is a red apple. My choice is also your gallery to finish this evening on the TE. This composition is i little different of your usually manu. My soul accept it.

Friendly your

Branko

shevchenko (10016) 2008-11-27 20:53

Hi Harriet,
Intersting note to introduce style of a festival celebrations between two different countries, this situation happened also in some of the Chinese festivals where China approved holiday for celebrating but have no holiday in Malaysia.
Very nice the green background, like your note writen the small one surrounding the biggest one create a little cosmos, thanks for sharing.
Ally

Silvio1953 (42579) 2008-11-28 0:40

Hi Harriet, splendid and original colorful composition with great details and excellent sharpness, perfect focus, vey well done, ciao Silvio

mauro61 (16152) 2008-11-28 2:52

ciao Harriet,
composizione studiata e da te ben colta, con uno scatto ricco di colori.
ben fatto
saluti
maurizio

rginer (572) 2008-11-28 11:20

Hi Harriet,
nice photo and colours and a fantastic information about the 'Erntedankfest'. I agree absolutely with you; when people gpo to the supermarket they seem not be aware about the efforts the peasants do in order we could have a good meal home. In the south of France they also celebrate this festivity with pumpkins.

scroller (2883) 2008-11-28 12:51

Hej Harriet,
A great atumn and colourful compo here.
Hälsningar
/Stefan

dumbo (4368) 2008-11-29 0:02

Hello Harriet,
Beautiful and really colorful picture. I like those pumpkins and this great composition.
Well done!

Best regards,
Eino

Royaldevon (5938) 2008-11-29 0:44

Hello Harriet,

Harvest Festivals still go on in churches in U.K. Many schools connect to the tradition by collecting fresh produce and distributing it to the old people in the community.

This is an interesting shot, with notes, to help re-awaken knowledge which can easily be lost! It is bright, colourful, detailed and carries a real atmosphere of Natural Tradition.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

LamCam (3603) 2008-11-29 12:34

Hello Harriet,
A very enjoyable, colourful shot. As Bev says in her note this is a tradition we share. I can remember Harvest Festivals at the church and at school. In church the altar would be decorated with fruit and vegetables, and the centrepiece was always bread made in the shape of a sheaf of corn. Your photograph has awakened memories for many TE members - TFS
Best wishes....Maggie

feather (50040) 2008-11-30 3:59

Reading your note brings back memories of Harvest Festivals at school. They are still held in churches and schools all over the UK, but are not the big event like Thanksgiving in the US. Interesting display here.
Kath

macondo (13239) 2008-11-30 4:25

Hi Harriet.
Absolutely fascinating note to accompany this photo. It's something to make one ponder the meaning of life... well, almost! Seriously, our collective memory is in a mess when everything of any significance in life is just bought from a shop and then consumed and/or thrown away in a few moments. And many people rarely eat good food from the earth. In fact it's hard to imagine what many people these days would ever give thanks for; so much is taken for granted.
The photo shows very well the tradition which you have well described and explained. Your English is remarkably good by the way.
Regards,
Andrew

gunbud (28107) 2008-11-30 5:42

Hi Harriet,
Wonderful autumn image full of bright contrasting colors, rich textures and exceptional sharpness and details of this lovely harvest.
Regards, Tom

holmertz (9901) 2008-11-30 11:30

Hello Harriet,
An interesting and educational note, also a very colourful picture that expresses the hard work of rural life and the farmers' satisfaction of being able to feed their families.
A picture of a different kind, but very suitable for TE .
Thanks for sharing,
Gert

gildasjan (24049) 2008-11-30 13:23

Bonsoir Harriet
Superbe décoration colorée avec tous ces fruits,le tableau est complet pour presque nous mettre en appétit.
Bonne soirée
Amicalement
Gildas

bracasha75 (22291) 2008-11-30 14:20

Halo Harriet
Schones foto wo man schone decoration geniesen kann
Die note erklart alles
Vielen dank
Bratislav

Bluejeans (32901) 2008-12-01 7:32

Ola Harriet,
Bonita composição com estes legumes e frutas parecem o sistema solar , boas cores, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

emka (22131) 2008-12-02 13:56

hallo Harriet, Nice photo of the autumn fruits and leaves, interesting set. Funny pumpkin as a sun and apples as the stars. Nice colourful picture. Regards

Malgorzata

batalay (21126) 2008-12-06 20:20

Hello Harriet,

Colorful and imaginative shot, with a name that is truly evocative of the solar system. Your note is informative and engaging. Have a good Sunday,

Warm regards,

Bulent

Miha2ou7 (4923) 2008-12-09 7:09

Hey Harriet,

Mmm, that`s a nice arrangement, and definitely worth showing to the wide world, quite a lot of work must have been put into it, and I can appreciate that. Also thanks for the informative note.

Best regards.

maloutim (4013) 2009-01-06 11:25

Hi Harriet!
I missed that nice photo around Thanksgiving! I love the colours, the composition and the note which is very interesting!
I suppose the Pilgrim Fathers who initiated the celebration in America, really took the tradition that they had in Northern Europe.
Now in Germany the tradition has remained something simple, whereas in America, it has taken huge proportions!
Thank you for sharing this part of history with us!
Best wishes!
Marie Louise.