Michaelmas
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
Mich·ael·mas
(mĭk'əl-məs) 
n.
n.
- A Christian feast observed in honor of the archangel Michael.
- September 29, the day on which this feast is observed.
[Middle English mychelmesse, from Old English (Sanct) Michaeles mæsse, (Saint) Michael's mass : Michaeles, genitive of Michael, the archangel Michael + mæsse, Mass; see Mass.]
Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore:
Top
Michaelmas
The feast of St Michael the Archangel, 29 September, is one of the Quarter Days, a date for the payment of rents and the beginning or ending of hiring engagements (see hiring fairs). It was also a day for feasting, the traditional fare being a roast goose, fattened on the stubble fields; such geese were sometimes presented by tenant farmers to their landlords. It was said that ‘if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day you will never lack money all year’.
Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:
Top
Michaelmas
[Ge]
Traditional calendar festival in northern Europe recently celebrated on 29 September marking the end of the harvest and thus the end of the agricultural year.
September 29 in the West; November 8 in the East
The Feast of the Archangel Michael, or the Day of St. Michael and All Angels, is a traditional feast day in the Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, and Orthodox churches. The cult of St. Michael, traditionally regarded as the leader of the heavenly host of angels, probably originated in the East, then spread to the West by the fifth century. The Roman Catholic feast honors the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, while in the East and the Anglican communion, Michael and all the angels are honored.
Churches dedicated to Michael can be found in Asia and throughout coastal Europe, usually in places where Michael is reputed to have saved the community from the threat of a monster or giant. The ninth-century abbey Mont St. Michel, off the coast of Normandy, France, once held the shield worn by Michael in his fight against the dragon.
There is an old saying that if you eat goose on Michaelmas you won't have to worry about money for a year. When tenants paid their rent on this day (see Quarter Days), it was customary to include "one goose fit for the lord's dinner." Feasting on goose dinners is still part of the Michaelmas tradition, particularly in Ireland.
Random House Word Menu:
Top
categories related to 'Michaelmas'
- Annual National and Religious Holidays - Michaelmas: Christian: September 29, feast of the archangel St. Michael
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Michaelmas
For other uses, see Michaelmas (disambiguation).
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel (also the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September. Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated in the northern hemisphere with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. In medieval England, Michaelmas marked the ending and beginning of the husbandman's year, George C. Homans observes: "at that time harvest was over, and the bailiff or reeve of the manor would be making out the accounts for the year."[1]
The Archangel Michael is the greatest of all the Archangels and is honored for defeating Lucifer in the war in heaven.[2] He is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. Michaelmas has also delineated time and seasons for secular purposes as well, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland as one of the quarter days.
The Eastern Orthodox Churches do not observe Michaelmas. The Greek Orthodox honor the archangels on 8 November instead.
|
Contents
|
History
During the Middle Ages, Michaelmas was celebrated as a Holy Day of Obligation, but this tradition was abolished in the 18th century. Lutheran Christians consider it a principal feast of Christ, and the Lutheran Confessor, Philip Melanchthon, wrote a hymn for the day that is still sung in Lutheran Churches: "Lord God to Thee We Give." It was also one of the English, Welsh and Irish quarter days when accounts had to be settled. On manors, it was the day when a reeve was elected from the peasants. Traditional meal for the day includes goose (a "stubble-goose", i.e. one prepared around harvest time) and a special cake called a St Michael's bannock. On the Isle of Skye, Scotland, a procession was held.
Differences in number of archangels
In Anglican and Episcopal tradition, there are three or four archangels in its calendar for 29 September feast for St. Michael and All Angels: namely Michael, Gabriel and Raphael,[3] and often, Uriel.[4][5][6][7][8] The Bible itself identifies only Michael as "the archangel" (book of Jude, verse 9) and does not identify any other creatures as being archangels.
Autumn term in universities
Main article: Michaelmas term
It is used in the extended sense of autumn, used as the name of the first term of the academic year, which begins at this time, at various educational institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland (typically those with lengthy history and traditions, notably the Universities of Glasgow, Cambridge, Oxford, King's College London, Durham, Aberystwyth and Dublin).
Use by legal profession
The Inns of Court of the English Bar and the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland also have a Michaelmas term as one of their dining terms. It begins in September and ends towards the end of December.
The term is also the name of the first of four terms into which the legal year is divided by the courts of Wales and England.[9]
The U.S. Supreme Court follows this tradition (though not by name) by convening each new term the first Monday in October, which is shortly after Michaelmas.[10]
Modern observances
Michaelmas is still celebrated in the Waldorf schools, which celebrate it as the "festival of strong will" during the autumnal equinox. Rudolf Steiner considered it the second most important festival after Easter ("he is risen, therefore he can be laid in the grave.")[11]
Old Michaelmas Day
Old Michaelmas Day falls on October 11 (October 10 according to some sources). According to an old legend, blackberries should not be picked after this date. This is because, so folklore goes, Satan was banished from Heaven on this day, fell into a blackberry bush and cursed the brambles as he fell into them. In Yorkshire, it is said that the devil had spat on them. According to Morrell (1977), this old legend is well known in all parts of the United Kingdom, even as far north as the Orkney Islands. In Cornwall, a similar legend prevails, however, the saying goes that the devil urinated on them.
See also
References
- ^ George C. Homans, English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century, 2nd ed. 1991:354.
- ^ Richard Freeman Johnson (2005), Saint Michael the Archangel in medieval English legend, Boydell Press, p. 105, http://books.google.com/books?id=w9CkldubfRAC&pg=PA105#v=onepage&q&f=false, retrieved 2010-07-11
- ^ Oremus.org website. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ Saint Uriel Church website patron Saint web page. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ Episcopal Church, Standing Liturgical Commission. The proper for the lesser feasts and fasts: together with the fixed holy days, Church Hymnal Corp., 1988, ISBN 978-0-89869-214-3. p. 380
- ^ Anglican.org website Michaelmas page. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ St. George's Lennoxville website, What Are Anglicans, Anyway? page. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ Christ Church Eureka website, September Feasts page. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom; Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Judicial Sitting for the Michaelmas Term, Monday 4th October –Tuesday 21st December 2010, http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/michaelmas_term_2010_v03.pdf, retrieved 2010-11-08
- ^ Supreme Court of the United States, The Court and Its Procedures, http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/procedures.aspx, retrieved 2010-11-08, "A Term of the Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the first Monday in October."
- ^ Cycle of the Year, Lectures from RS Archive-GA223.
Further reading
- Morrell, P. (1977). Festivals and Customs. London: Pan (Piccolo). ISBN 0-330-25215-1
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michaelmas |
- Michaelmas - Scottish Traditions
- Alice's Medieval Feasts & Fasts: Michaelmas
- Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Michael the Archangel
- Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Gabriel the Archangel
- Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Raphael the Archangel
- History & Methods of Celebrating the Feast of the Archangels
- Prayers Dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel
- Readings for the Day from the Lectionary of the Episcopal Church: Michaelmas
- Michael and All Angels
- About Old Michaelmas
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore
A Dictionary of English Folklore. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Read more
Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations of the World
Holidays, Festivals, and Celebration of the World Dictionary. Copyright © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Michaelmas daisy
(North American species of asters)
Walter Lambe
(music)
Joseph Lightfoot
(in archaeology)
» More