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Every October there is an Amish
religious "holiday" that often catches we non-Amish by surprise. Amish
businesses are closed, and farmers are not seen working in the fields. The day
is called St. Michael's Day, and is usually observed by the Amish on October
11. For the Amish, most of whom probably know very little about Michael, it is a
day of rest and fasting (usually breakfast) prior to the upcoming Communion
service.
St. Michael's Day is celebrated in
the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches on September 29th, and in the
Greek church on November 8. The different dates have to do with changes from the
Roman to the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
So, who is St. Michael? As one of the
seven archangels named in the Old Testament, he is mentioned in the book of
Daniel as a "great prince" and protector of God's people. Icons of
Michael in other churches often depict him as a young warrior, dressed in armor.
This is because he is also mentioned in the New Testament book of Revelation,
Chapter 12, when he leads the angels in a heavenly fight against the devil. Not
surprisingly, in the Middle Ages we find Michael was the patron saint of
knights.
The Catholic church believed Michael to
be the one "designated to lead the souls of Christians to God's judgment
seat," and he was considered the patron of the Germans, "der deutsche
Michel."
In England and other countries, St.
Michael's Day was also one of the quarter days when rents and bills come due
yearly. When observed as a feast day, "Michaelmas" was celebrated with
a meal of roast goose, a custom started hundreds of years ago when people
included a goose in their rent payments to landlords. As an English proverb
says, "If you eat goose on Michaelmas Day, you will never want for money
all the year round."
But how did the Amish come to
"observe" the day of a Catholic saint? In the old days in Europe, many
of the Amish and Mennonites were tenant farmers. Much of the land was owned by
the church or aristocrats. Farmers paid a percent of their profits to the
landholder every year. The date set by the churches and monasteries in Germany
for the farmers to pay their tax was St. Michael's Day, October 11th. This
date fell after the harvest, when the profits and resulting tax could be most
accurately assessed.
Today, most of the Amish probably
couldn't even tell you who St. Michael is, or why his day was chosen for
fasting and resting. Yet it remains a special day for them, as it was for their
ancestors, even if the reason for its observance has changed. It is an example
of an old custom that has continued to survive simply because it has become a
tradition.
Amish Country News
Article by Brad Igou
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