Ritual.

Corn was a truly American crop, and the task of husking, or "shuckin'," the corn became a harvest ritual throughout the nation. In addition to consuming corn as meal or hominy, American farmers used it to feed their hogs and to make liquor. The process of taking the corn from the stalks and piling it in the yard or barn began in early November. Sometime between then and the middle of December the husk had to be removed from the corn. This was a time when most of the farm work was completed and laborers were fairly idle, so husking was a good reason for a gathering. It was called an "affair of mutual assistance" since the task was rarely done by one family. But even though corn shuckin' was performed throughout the United States, there were variations in the...