Saturday, 30 September 2023

Michaelmas Day

 

Michaelmas Day

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, September 29th, was Michaelmas Day, Là Fhéill Micheil, the Feast of Michael and All Angels. It marks the end of harvest and the beginning of autumn and its shorter days. The archangel Michael was the leader of Heaven’s armies and defeated Lucifer.

Traditionally, blackberries should not be picked after St Michael’s Day because that was the date that Lucifer was expelled from Heaven as punishment for his dreadful deeds. He landed in a bramble bush, and burnt, stamped and spat upon the berries so picking them after that date is not advisable.

A traditional Michaelmas meal might consist of a goose fattened on the stubble of the harvested fields and carrots. This meal foretold good luck for the coming year. Sometimes the day was known as ‘Goose Day’ and goose fairs were held, when labourers looking for work after harvest could be hired.

Nottingham Goose Fair still takes place around this date. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I was eating goose when she heard that the Spanish Armada had been defeated and declared that she would eat goose on Michaelmas Day. Thus was a tradition formed.

The name ‘Goose Fair’ was first recorded in 1541-1542, though it probably had been in existence since the Charter of King Edward I (who reigned 1272 to 1307) referred to Nottingham city fairs, around 1284. 20,000 geese raised and fattened in the Lincolnshire fens each year were driven to Nottingham to be sold.  Goose Fair used to be held for eight days from September 21st but was moved to early October in 1752, after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.

                                Sculpture of goose girl, Wittingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
                                                     Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Asters, also known as Michaelmas daisies, are associated with Michaelmas Day. They are perennial, nectar and pollen-rich flowers which bloom in late summer and autumn and come in a variety of colours from white to pink, purple, blue and red. They are easy to grow in all but the most difficult soils, like heavy clay.

Asters are named after the Greek for ‘star’ because their flowers resemble stars. The flowers were formed from the tears of Astraea, the ‘Starry Maid’, the Greek goddess of innocence, who cried when she saw there were no stars on earth.

Asters signify love, wisdom and faith and became representative of love after being offered on altars to the gods. In the Language of Flowers they symbolised love, patience and wisdom, as well as elegance and grace, two qualities greatly admired by the Victorians.

A posy of asters carries the message that the recipient should take care of themselves for the sender. Different colours say different things. Purple asters stand for dignity and admiration. Pink flowers symbolise innocence and love and white flowers also represent innocence as well as purity. Blue asters signify faithfulness and trustworthiness.



23 comments:

  1. Your asters look sharp!! Although they bloom in late summer and autumn, and come in wonderful colours, I have not heard them called Michaelmas daisies. I am not even certain if we have Michaelmas Day in Australia.

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    1. Michaelmas is celebrated in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches across the Western world. It's not a big festival like Christmas, or Yom Kippur or Eid.

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  2. I'm disappointed to read they don't grow well in heavy clay soils, that's what we have here in my city, they are pretty.

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    1. They flower for a long time, too, and the bees love them.

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  3. I will remember Michaelmas daisies and Aster daisies are the same flower.

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  4. Such a lovely lot of traditional info - I always learn something new from your blog posts, thank you. xx

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    1. Oh, thank you, Joy. I learn a lot as I write them, too ;-) x x

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  5. Your Asters are a credit to your garden. Mine haven't come to anything yet this year. I have to say I knew very little about Michaelmas Day. The 30 September is also International Translation Day. Now there is a factoid you really wanted to know!

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    1. Thank you, Graham. They were late flowering this year.
      Every day is a 'something' day now. I believe it's Grandparents' Day today or some such nonsense.

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    2. Tomorrow is Grandparents day....
      To~day is Confucius Day...! :0).

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  6. Yes! I'm partial to goose....Yum! Yum!
    But, more to the point... a reference to
    religious persecution....
    Goosey goosey gander,
    Whither shall I wander?

    Upstairs and downstairs,
    And in my lady’s chamber.

    There I met an old man,
    Who wouldn’t say his prayers,

    So I took him by his left leg,
    And threw him down the stair...! :).
    🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔 🐔

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  7. I wondered why Nottingham's Goose Fair was so named. Asters are great for some late colour, a consideration for my own garden which is still a work in progress.

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    1. Some of them have beautiful, bright colours, and they flower for a long time, too.

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  8. I have always heard of Michaelmas, but am sorry to say I had no idea what it was or when. Thanks. The asters are blooming here too and for me it means the end of summer like weather. Our time will change the first weekend in Nov. We just had 9 days of dark gloom and not until this morn did I get to witness the sun is coming up further in the south. Our blackberries are gone before now and i doubt I have had the opportunity to eat forbidden ones this late.

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  9. It's too early for dark gloom so I hope the sun bucks up and shines more brightly and more frequently for you.

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  10. Just found your blog and found that post fascinating, particularly about the blackberries. I’ll remember not to pick them lol!

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  11. Better to be safe than sorry! Thank you for visiting:-)

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  12. I knew virtually none of this. Thank you.

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  13. I'd heard of Michaelmas Day, but had no idea of its meaning or when it was celebrated exactly. Thank you, Janice, for another educational and entertaining post! xxx

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    Replies
    1. Good Queen Bess had a lot of influence (but I've never eaten goose!) x x x

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