In honor of Michaelmas Day ...

I'm a fan of British literature. Not just the old "classics," but even more recent literature set in England (and surrounding areas) -- books by Elizabeth Goudge from the mid-20th century, for example. Often, I've encountered references to Michaelmas -- Michaelmas Day, Michaelmas flowers, Michaelmas term -- in this literature. So I noticed, at the start of this month on a lovely little nature diary I keep in my kitchen, that today, September 29, would be Michaelmas Day. Time to put vague associations aside, I decided, and find out what this was all about.

Michaelmas (pronounced Mick-ul-mus) Day is a traditional celebration of the early Christian church (the church of Rome and the Church of England). Like many other holidays, it has both religious and secular associations.

Tribute to a valiant archangel
First and foremost, Michealmas Day was a celebration of the archangel Micheal, who is mentioned five times in scripture. The most well-known of these mentions, probably, is in the book of John (I think) where Micheal fought against Satan and forever earned a reputation as protector from the evil one. The British poet, Milton, eulogized the encounter in some of his most famous poetry.

Honoring a daisy-ish flower
Michaelmas Day is also associated with Michaelmas daisies, a type of aster that grows well in the coldest of weather. The flower is reported to sprout its first bloom just at Michaelmas Day, and continue blooming clear through to the next summer.

Yesterday, I went to Walmart, and I think perhaps I saw some Michealmas daisies disguised as mums -- purple, with a bright yellow center. (If I'd done even more research, which I don't have time to do, I might have learned that these mums are, in fact, a type of aster.)

Cicely Mary Barker, a favorite illustrator, was most known for her poems and illustrations of flowers posing as fairies -- the flower fairies, she called them. Here is a picture of her Michealmas Fairy.
(Cicely Mary Barker poems and illustrations are suddenly in fashion, and you can find them in books everywhere. If you love gardening, or you have a little girl, you might want to check some out from the library. Delightful, they are. She so cleverly draws these little fairies adorned in dresses and caps that resemble the flower after which the fairy is named.

End of the Harvest, Goose Day, and other folklore:
Michaelmas celebrations traditionally signaled the end of the harvest season in the British Isles.

In Ireland and northern England, it was thought that if you ate goose at Michaelmas, you would have good luck for the rest of the year. Thus, it remains a custom on the holiday (also known as Goose Day) to have goose for dinner. (Supposedly, it had something to do with a legend about Queen Elizabeth eating goose after the defeat of the Armada.)

In Ireland, finding a ring hidden in a Michaelmas pie meant that one would soon be married.