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Michaelmas hiring fair, Bedale, painted by Joseph
Appleyard for
'Holly Leaves' (1956). This was also an illustration for his proposed book
'Riding through the Ridings'.
Michaelmas, with all its customs and traditions, is celebrated still in the Waldorf schools, which celebrate it as the "festival of strong will" during the autumnal equinox. In the British Isles, Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29. As the Feast of St. Michael within the Catholic church, this date is often associated with the harvest because of its proximity to the autumn equinox.
There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th Spetember) and Christmas (25th December). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun.
It was used to be said that, harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. It was the time at which new servants were hired or land was exchanged and debts were paid. This is how it came to be for Michaelmas to be the time for electing magistrates and also the beginning of legal and university terms. |
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Sometimes the day was also known as "Goose Day" and goose fairs were held. Even now, the famous Nottingham Goose Fair is still held on or around the 3rd of October. Part of the reason goose is eaten is that it was said that when Queen Elizabeth I heard of the defeat of the Armada, she was dining on goose and resolved to eat it on Michaelmas Day. Others followed suit. It could also have developed through the role of Michaelmas Day as the debts were due; tenants requiring a delay in payment may have tried to persuade their landlords with gifts of geese!
The Michaelmas Daisy, which flowers late in the growing season between late August and early October, provides colour and warmth to gardens at a time when the majority of flowers are coming to an end. As suggested by the saying below, the daisy is probably associated with this celebration because, as mentioned previously, St Michael is celebrated as a protector from darkness and evil, just as the daisy fights against the advancing gloom of Autumn and Winter. The act of giving a Michaelmas Daisy symbolises saying farewell, perhaps in the same way as Michaelmas Day is seen to say farewell to the productive year and welcome in the new cycle.
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In the British Isles, Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29. As the Feast of St. Michael within the Catholic church, this date is often associated with the harvest because of its proximity to the autumn equinox.
In Scotland, St Michael’s Bannock, or Struan Micheil (a large scone-like
cake) is also created. This used to be made from cereals grown on the family’s
land during the year, representing the fruits of the fields, and is cooked on
a lamb skin, representing the fruit of the flocks. The cereals are also moistened
with sheeps milk, as sheep are deemed the most sacred of animals. As the Struan
is created by the eldest daughter of the family, the following is said:
“Progeny and prosperity of family, Mystery of Michael, Protection
of the Trinity.”
Through the celebration of the day in this way, the prosperity and wealth of
the family is supported for the coming year. The custom of celebrating Michaelmas
Day as the last day of harvest was broken when Henry VIII split from the Catholic
Church; instead, it is Harvest Festival that is celebrated now. |
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