Typically, festivals involve people coming together in the act of celebration. In ancient times, people would gather together to bring harvests in, often working cooperatively to ensure there was enough food to see them through the winter. In many cultures, harvest festivals hark back to such a time before harvesting was largely mechanised. As more people were gathered than was usual and more time was available for people to mix, so such festivals started to take on a greater cultural significance, perhaps with the addition of music and dance. This is the ancestor of the modern arts festival. In addition, modern festival events include ones devoted to food and drink, perhaps to promote a certain food-producing region or product. The other major form of festivals is devoted to religion. Often, religious festivals coincide with public holidays.
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