Glossary · Term

Green Corn Ceremony

Also known as Busk

The Green Corn Ceremony is the most important annual festival of the Muscogee (Creek), Seminole and other peoples of the south-eastern woodlands of North America. Held in midsummer when the new maize ripens, it is a rite of renewal: fires are extinguished and relit, offences forgiven, and dances, fasting and purification take place at the town's square ground. It remains central to traditional communities today.

Green Corn Ceremony
Image: George Catlin · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Muscogee ConfederacySeminole Nation

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Green Corn Ceremony. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/green-corn-ceremony
MLA
“Green Corn Ceremony.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/green-corn-ceremony. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Green Corn Ceremony.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/green-corn-ceremony.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Green Corn Ceremony’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/green-corn-ceremony (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻