St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 220 W. Fourth St., East Liverpool, will celebrate its 130th annual Harvest Home Festival Sunday Service on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. The Harvest Home supper will follow on Monday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the parish hall. (Submitted photo)

EAST LIVERPOOL – St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 220 W. Fourth St., will celebrate its 130th annual Harvest Home Festival Sunday Service on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. The Harvest Home supper will follow on Monday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. The dinner will be served in the St. Stephen’s parish hall and carry-out orders will be available.

Harvest Home is celebrated on the Sunday closest to Sept. 29, which is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. This is also known as Michaelmas.

The celebration is an ancient forerunner of the American Thanksgiving holiday. It has been celebrated in various forms in England since the 13th century. In Scotland, the holiday was known as Kirn and in northern England, it was called Mell-Supper.

The origins of the celebration have to do with the culmination of the final harvest. Farmers and field laborers could pause in their work and express gratitude for the year’s bounty. St. Stephen’s, with its strong English heritage, has long had a great affinity for this festival.

St. Stephen’s parish records from 1895 show that the Vestry provided a sum of money “to be used for the purpose of providing a Harvest Dinner to be held in the parish hall.”

Each year at Harvest Home, St. Stephen’s is decorated with symbols of the year’s harvest: corn stalks and ears of corn, pumpkins, gourds, squash, wheat and loaves of bread. Hydrangea, dahlias and colorful autumn leaves add color to the church decorations.

The Harvest Home dinner is a traditional English meal: roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans. Accompanying the meal will be coleslaw, rolls and butter, beverages and a wide variety of desserts, many of which are home-baked by members of St. Stephen’s.

Tickets for the dinner are $15 for ages 13 and older, $9 for children ages 6 through 12 and free for children ages 5 and under. Carry-out meals are also available (call 330-385-3828 any time after 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 4). Details can also be found on Facebook under the public group “St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, ELO.”