Village News

Marking the Seasons

  • Gary Dyck, Blog Coordinator
  • Executive Director, MHV
Fall on the Farm

The temperatures are cooling, the days are shorter and kids are going back to school. This Labour Day Monday Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) hosted its annual ‘Fall on the Farm’. It’s an event to celebrate the end of the summer season and to display the traditions and skills of the traditional Mennonite community. It is important for our physical bodies, our hearts and our psyche to have these markers of seasons. Previous generations were more connected with their environment. Harvesting, threshing, milling, canning were all tangible works that helped one know that summer was closing shop and winter was coming. Today we seem to be surprised by the passage of time even though we have more reminders than ever from our marketers that soon it is ‘back to school’.

At Fall on the Farm I saw people taking time to enjoy the last days of summer and taking in traditional preparations for winter. These included pickling demonstrations, tasting warm bread from the clay oven, and watching the wheat chaff blow from the threshing machine.

For generations Mennonite forebearers had gone through these same processes to ready them and their community for the coming season. No wonder there is something that feels right and good about observing these same processes at Fall on the Farm. ‘Rites of Passage’ provide the mind and body the cues it needs to adapt to coming change. It provides a foundation for resilience, which is the ability to bounce back when new pressures in life come. For the Mennonites these were also about survival through the harsh prairie winter physically, mentally and socially.

This September 8th to 14th is our first ever Mennonite Heritage Week as designated by the Parliament of Canada. The discussion of the bill actually brought abnormal unity to the House of Commons. If you search online for ‘Mennonite Heritage Week’ you will find a video of MP Jane Philpott sharing some revealing information on what the Mennonites mean to her and her riding. The speeches of the NDP are also quite interesting.

I believe it is fine for the federal government to recognize the contribution Mennonites have made to Canada, for our nation to become more aware of who we are, and for Mennonites themselves to celebrate their heritage. In this global village of less and less cultural distinctives we need be active in knowing our history, each other’s stories, and be grateful for the good that has gone before us.

I sincerely hope that you all have a great week and enjoy the changing season.