Thursday, September 29, 2011

Happy Michaelmas!


If you have spent any part of your life reading the classics, you have read about Michaelmas. Or perhaps you celebrate it now in your own observances. I myself was introduced to it through multiple readings of Jane Austen and others, but it appears often in Austen's works and I remember when I was younger and sans internet wondering what it was.

Well, today is Michaelmas. If you celebrate, enjoy! If you don't and want to know more, there's a helpful entry on Wikipedia. Yes, it has been primarily a religious holiday, but it is also strongly associated with the autumnal equinox--which I neglected to post about last week--and is often observed along with that, too.

I also found this website helpful about Michaelmas where you can read about customs, history, etc. And yes, I count this as pertinent to SurLaLune as part of customs and traditions with associated folklore, albeit they are primarily religious traditions which have a heavy influence on folklore.

2 comments:

  1. My son goes to a Waldorf school, so this is part of his preschool curriculum. Nice to know the traditions are alive and well somewhere!

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  2. I've always been fond of this holiday, both because I like unusual holidays, and because my dad's name is Michael, his birthday is in September, and he's a cop. =) (St. Michael is the patron saint of cops.) Last year I surprised him with a Michaelmas bannock and low-key celebration-- it was fun!

    ~Lylassandra

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