Thanksgiving & Harvest Home
New England Puritans celebrated their November Thanksgiving as a substitute for Christmas which was forbidden to them. Pa. Gay Dutch celebrated Christmas & had their own Thanksgiving called Harvest Home.
A cultural conflict resulted when New England's Thanksgiving tradition invaded Dutch Pa. For many years, Pennsylvanians looked on Thanksgiving as just another unwanted Yankee trick & they refused to celebrate it.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 40° 31.086′ N, 75° 46.983′ W. Marker is in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, in Berks County. It is on North Whiteoak Street. Marker is on the Kutztown Fairgrounds, home of the Kutztown Folk Festival. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 450 Wentz Street, Kutztown PA 19530, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Bush Meeting (here, next to this marker); Cider (here, next to this marker); The Plain Dutch (a few steps from this marker); New Year's Day Lore (a few steps from this marker); The Candlemaker (a few steps from this marker); Funeral Feasts (a few steps from this marker); Dutch Folksong Tradition
this page online
Regarding Thanksgiving & Harvest Home. Excerpt from "Today... and Yesterday" by The Morning Call
Also see . . .
1. A Pennsylvania Dutch Thanksgiving. Saveur website entry (Submitted on April 5, 2023, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
2. The Pennsylvania German Society. Society website homepage (Submitted on July 13, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
3. Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. University website entry (Submitted on July 13, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 13, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 805 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 13, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
