Michaelmas Day, celebrated next day on September 29, is a day rich in religious and secular traditions in British culture. It’s also called the Feast of Michael and All Angels, including the angels Gabriel and Raphael.
In the Christian tradition, St. Michael is considered a mighty warrior angel who defeated the devil during the war in heaven. A holy day since the Middle Ages, Michaelmas falls near the autumn equinox and is associated with the beginning of the fall season.
Michaelmas also one of Britain’s four “quarter days,” a way to divide up the year. Traditionally, quarter days were when law courts and universities began their terms, magistrates were elected, rents were due, and servants were hired.
On Michaelmas Day the mayor of London is elected. Following the mayor’s inauguration in November a colorful street parade marches through the city. The Lord Mayor’s Show is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century, and is a popular annual event.
In addition, Michaelmas is also the name of the first of the four terms in the legal year in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the United States, the Supreme Court has a schedule similar to the British model, with their annual term beginning on the first Monday after Michaelmas in October.
Quarter days not only represent holy days on the Catholic/Anglican liturgical calendar but are closely associated with the change of seasons as well. They are:
- Lady Day, March 25 (Feast of the Assumption) just after the spring equinox
- Midsummer Day, June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist) just after the summer solstice
- Michaelmas Day, September 29, (Feast of St. Michael and All Angels), just after the autumn equinox
- Christmas Day, December 25 (Feast of the Nativity) just after the winter solstice
The Michaelmas quarter day was especially important because it marked the successful completion of the harvest and signaled the start of a productive new farming cycle.
Like her contemporaries, Jane Austen would have been familiar with quarter days, especially Michaelmas – after all, her father was not only a clergyman but a farmer as well.
Austen mentions Michaelmas in the opening pages of Pride and Prejudice, when Mrs. Bennet gossips about her new neighbor, Mr. Bingley:
“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”
In the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the Archangel Michael successfully fights against Lucifer and his fallen angels. So, as a battle-tested warrior, Michael is a good choice to protect mankind against the encroaching darkness and potentially evil forces of the autumn and winter. (We all know what kind of evil forces Halloween can unleash!)
A traditional Michaelmas feast includes a roast goose, along with whatever remains of the just-completed harvest.
Why a goose? Well, as the saying goes: “Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, want not for money all the year.”
The idea of eating a “good luck goose” on Michaelmas goes back to the reign of Elizabeth I. Legend has it the queen was eating a roast goose on Michaelmas Day in 1588 when she got the news that her royal navy had defeated the Spanish Armada. That was certainly a lucky day for Elizabeth and her country!
The association between geese and Michaelmas made its way to America as well. Michaelmas Day traditions were brought to Lewiston, Pennsylvania, by an English settler in the late 1700s. Today, the Juniata River Valley’s annual Goose Day Festival is a weekend event that includes a corn maze and a pumpkin fest. And geese, of course.
Another bit of folklore says you shouldn’t eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day. The reason? Because they were cursed by the devil.
The story goes that when St. Michael threw Lucifer out of heaven, the devil landed on a thorny blackberry bush. In retribution, Satan, not known for his even temper, did all sorts of things to the berries – stomped them, scorched them with his fiery breath, even urinated on them – to make the fruit dry, sour, and just plain inedible.
So, along with roasting a goose, a blackberry pie is traditionally baked, to use up all the good berries before Michaelmas Day.
Finally, Michaelmas Day is often represented by the Michaelmas daisy. This pretty flower provides a burst of color in autumn that outlasts most other blooms as winter approaches.
“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,
Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds.
And seems the last of flowers that stood,
Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”
(The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude is on October 28.)
Whether you indulge in a roast goose on Michaelmas Day or enjoy a vegan alternative, I hope you have good luck that continues all year!
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Sources for this post include:
- “Michaelmas,” by Ben Johnson, Historic UK
- “Goose Day, September 29,” Juniata River Valley Visitor’s Bureau
- “What is it About . . . Michaelmas,” British Heritage Travel Magazine, September – October 2021
- Lord Mayor’s Show, London, November 11, 2023
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons