The Official Website of

A Holiday for the Rational Individual

About Reason's Harvest

Reason's Harvest is a holiday to be celebrated world-wide, annually, on the first Friday following the U.S. Thanksgiving Thursday. In 2009, Reason's Harvest will be celebrated on November 27.

Reason's Harvest is celebrated by both earning as much as one can earn on that day by honest, rational activity and spending ones own earnings on things one rationally values more than the money paid in exchange. The purpose of the holiday is to celebrate reason (humankind's sole means of obtaining knowledge of the facts of reality) and rationality. By focusing upon the production of material values, and upon trading them for things valued even more, each individual uses Reason's Harvest not only to pursue his or her own happiness, but to do so conspicuously, as a demonstration to others both of the purpose of ones life (to pursue ones own happiness) and of the virtue of rationality. In the process, productiveness - a virtue implied by rational human thought and action - is championed, and those who produce/create the things that we rationally enjoy are admired. Simultaneously, the philosophy of those who condemn the good for being the good; the cult of zero-worship, which condemns "convenience" and "excess"; is itself condemned.

The spirit of Reason's Harvest is summed up in a holiday greeting developed for use on Reason's Harvest: "Go Thank Yourself!". It is a greeting that recognizes that each person is responsible for his own happiness such that, if one achieves happiness, one has oneself to thank (and, usually, only oneself to thank).

Featured Video of the 2009 Celebration of Reason's Harvest

Masters Student Justin Wisniewski Thanks Himself with Art

2008 Celebrations of Reason's Harvest
A number of YouTubers tell us how they celebrated.

YouTuber zardozcs Thanks Himself with Books

Undergrad/Pendant designer and YouTuber AtheistUndergrad
describes his plans to create and to thank himself for doing so.

YouTuber dannidandannikins thanks himself belatedly.

YouTuber Beethovens7th shows us where the rubber hits the road
on his Reason's Harvest celebration.

2008/11/29 : A One-of-a-Kind Reason's Harvest (2008)

2008/11/27 - Audio: Reason's Harvest Discussed on Radio!!

Reason's Harvest was a topic of discussion on the CHRW (94.9 FM, London, Ontario CANADA) program "Just Right" with host Robert Metz. Here's that part of the show (click here to listen).

2008/11/27 - Video: Reason's Harvest 2008

Why to Celebrate Reason's Harvest...and How (even on a limited budget)

2008 Reason's Harvest Tee-shirt Stencil

Part of the fun of Reason's Harvest is using your own mind to come up with new ways to express your pride - in being competent to produce the material values upon which your survival and happiness depend - and to show your admiration for rational, productive individuals. For Reason's Harvest 2007, Paul McKeever designed and wore a Reason's Harvest tee shirt (you can see him do it in his 2007 Reason's Harvest video, below). If you right-click on the dollar sign image below, you can save it and print it on a an iron-on tee-shirt decal transfer (you can get them at Wal-Mart, last we checked). [Please note that the image you download will be much bigger, and look much sharper, than the image appears below].

Video: The Celebration of Reason's Harvest - 2007

Contact Information

Have a good idea about how to celebrate Reason's Harvest? You can contact Paul McKeever (who owns/operates reasonsharvest.com) by writing to him at pmckeever@mckeever.com (if you have never e-mailed Paul before, you will receive a confirmation message to which you must Reply before your e-mail will be delivered to Paul...this is an anti-spam procedure). Alternatively, you can contact Paul by telephone (905-721-9772) or by snail-mail: Paul McKeever, 106 Stevenson Road South, Oshawa, Ontario, CANADA L1J 5M1.