Editing Michaelmas

{{Short description|Christian festival}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name  = Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael
|type          = required
|image         = Linz StMartin01.JPG
|imagesize     = 
|caption       = Saint Michael the Archangel
|official_name =
|nickname      =
|observedby    = {{plainlist|
*[[Catholic Church]]
*[[Lutheran church]]es<ref name="Blersch2019">{{cite web |last1=Blersch |first1=Jeffrey |title=St. Michael and All Angels |url=https://www.pacifichillslutheran.org/news/st-michael-and-all-angels.html |publisher=Pacific Hills Lutheran Church |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201093647/https://www.pacifichillslutheran.org/news/st-michael-and-all-angels.html |archive-date=1 February 2023 |language=English |date=21 September 2019}}</ref>
*[[Anglican Communion]]<ref name="Spence-Jones1898">{{cite book|title=The Anglican Church|year=1898|publisher=Cassell|page=290|author=Donald Spence Jones|author-link=Donald Spence Jones}}</ref>
*[[Western Orthodoxy]]
}}
|litcolor      =
|longtype      =
|significance  =
|begins        =
|ends          =
|date          = 29 September (Western Christianity)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Bonnie |last2=Holford-Strevens |first2=Leofranc |title=The Oxford Book of Days |year=2000 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, UK  |isbn=0-198-662602 |page=392 }}</ref><br/>8 November (Eastern Christianity){{sfn|Blackburn|Holford-Strevens|2000|page=452}}
|duration      = <!-- e.g. "1 day", "1 week" -->
|frequency     = Annual
<!-- Use next three if holiday is the same day of the same week every year -->
|week_ordinal  = <!-- "first", "second", "last", etc. -->
|weekday       = <!-- "Sunday", "Monday", "Friday", etc. -->
|month         = <!-- "January", "February", "December", etc. -->
<!-- Use next  if the date changes in an unusual pattern each year -->
|date2013      = <!-- only for days that change each year -->
|date2014      = <!-- only for days that change each year -->
|date2015      = <!-- only for days that change each year -->
|date2021      = <!-- only for days that change each year -->
|celebrations  =
|observances   =
|relatedto     =
}}

'''Michaelmas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɪ|k|əl|m|ə|s}} {{Respell|MIK|əl|məs}}; also known as the '''Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael''', the '''Feast of the Archangels''', or the '''Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels''') is a [[Christianity|Christian]] festival observed in many Western Christian [[liturgical year|liturgical calendars]] on 29 September, and on 8 November in the Eastern Christian traditions. Michaelmas has been one of the four [[quarter days]] of the English and Irish financial, judicial, and academic year.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Philip's Encyclopedia|publisher=Philip's|year=2008|isbn=978-0-540-09451-6|pages=511}}</ref>

In the [[Christian angelology]] of some traditions, the [[Michael (archangel)|Archangel Michael]] is considered as the greatest of all the angels; being particularly honored for defeating the devil in the [[war in heaven]].<ref>{{citation | title=Saint Michael the Archangel in medieval English legend |author=Richard Freeman Johnson |page=105 |publisher=Boydell Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9CkldubfRAC&pg=PA105 |year=2005 |access-date=11 July 2010|isbn=1-84383-128-7}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:BL Harley 624, f. 134v - Michael and the dragon.jpg|thumb|left|[[Saint Michael]] defeats the Dragon, from a 12th-century [[manuscript]].]]
The name Michaelmas comes from a shortening of "Michael's Mass", in the same style as [[Christmas]] (Christ's Mass) and [[Candlemas]] (Candle Mass, the Mass where traditionally the candles to be used throughout the year would be blessed).<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Michaelmas |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Michaelmas |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref>

During the [[Middle Ages]], Michaelmas was celebrated as a [[Holy Day of Obligation]], but this tradition was abolished in the 18th century.<ref name=Holweck>{{cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10275b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Michael the Archangel |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1 October 1911 |access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref> 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 (England)|reeve]] of the [[Manorialism|manor]] would be making out the accounts for the year."<ref>George C. Homans, ''English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century'', 2nd ed. 1991:354.</ref>

Because it falls near the [[equinox]], this holy day is associated in the [[northern hemisphere]] with the beginning of [[autumn]] and the shortening of days. It was also one of the [[England|English]], [[Wales|Welsh]], and [[Ireland|Irish]] [[quarter days]], when accounts had to be settled. On manors, it was the day when a [[Reeve (England)|reeve]] was elected from the peasants.<ref name=Johnson>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Ben |title=Michaelmas, 29th September, and the customs and traditions associated with Michaelmas Day |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Michaelmas/ |website=Historic-uk.com |access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref> Michaelmas [[hiring fair]]s were held at the end of September or beginning of October.<ref name=Taylor>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/Michaelmas-Traditions/story-20144978-detail/story.html |author=Rob Taylor |title=Michaelmas Traditions |publisher=Black Country Bugle |date=7 October 2010 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930145251/http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/Michaelmas-Traditions/story-20144978-detail/story.html |archive-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The day was also considered a "gale day" in Ireland when rent would be due, as well as a day for the issuing or settling of contracts or other legal transactions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=McGarry|first=Marion|date=27 September 2019|title=Geese, daisies and debts: Michaelmas customs in Ireland of old|url=https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0926/1078446-geese-and-paying-the-rent-michaelmas-customs-in-ireland/|access-date=29 September 2020|website=RTÉ Brainstorm}}</ref>
[[File:Asteraceae - Aster amellus.JPG|thumb|Michaelmas daisy]]

==Celebration==
On the [[Isle of Skye]], Scotland, a [[procession]] was held.<ref name=Holweck/> One of the few flowers left around at this time of year is the Michaelmas daisy (also known as [[Aster (genus)|asters]]). Hence the rhyme: "The Michaelmas daisies, among dead weeds, Bloom for St Michael's valorous deeds ..."<ref name=Taylor/>

In Ireland, ({{langx|ga|Fómhar na nGéanna}}), pilgrimages to holy wells associated with St Michael took place, with pilgrims taking a drink from the holy water from the well. The greeting "May Michaelmas féinín on you" was traditional. Boys born on this day were often christened Michael or Micheál. In [[Tramore]], County Waterford, a procession with an effigy of St Michael, called the Micilín, was brought through the town to the shore to mark the end of the fishing season. In Irish folklore, clear weather on Michaelmas was a portent of a long winter, "Michaelmas Day be bright and clear there will be two 'Winters' in the year."<ref name=":0" />

===Food===
A traditional meal for the day includes [[goose]] known as a ''stubble-goose'' (one prepared around harvest time, fattened on the [[wiktionary:stubble_field|stubble fields]])<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |title=Are we ready to embrace the Michaelmas goose once again? |date=29 September 2012 |department=Food |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/19731413 |access-date=28 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003010509/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/19731413 |archive-date=3 October 2012}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jacqueline |title=A dictionary of English folklore |last2=Roud |first2=Stephen |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860398-6 |series=Oxford paperback reference |location=Oxford New York |pages=237}}</ref> also known as an ''embling'' or ''rucklety'' goose.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author=Mahon, Bríd |year=1998 |title=Land of Milk and Honey : The story of traditional Irish food and drink |publisher=Mercier Press |isbn=1-85635-210-2 |location=Dublin, IE |pages=135–137 |oclc=39935389 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39935389}}</ref> There was a saying that "if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day you will never lack money all year".<ref name=":2" /> Tenant farmers sometimes presented the geese to their landlords, as could be stipulated in their tenancy agreements. The custom dates to at least the 15th century, and was easily continued as geese are in their prime at Michaelmas time.<ref name=":2" /> 

One association of geese with Michaelmas comes from a legend in which the son of an Irish king choked on a goose bone he had eaten, and was then brought back to life by [[Saint Patrick|St.&nbsp;Patrick]]. The king ordered the sacrifice of a goose every Michaelmas in honour of the saint. The Irish Michaelmas goose was slaughtered and eaten on the day; they were also presented as gifts or donated to the poor.
In parts of Ireland sheep were also slaughtered with tradition of the "St.&nbsp;Michael's portion" donated to the poor. Poultry markets and fairs took place to sell geese as well as mutton pies.<ref name=":0"/> In [[Ulster]], it was traditional for tenants to present their landlord with a couple of geese, a tradition dating back to [[Edward IV of England|Edward&nbsp;IV]]. There were differing methods across Ireland for cooking the goose, most generally using a heavy iron pot on an open hearth. In [[Blacklion]], County Cavan, the goose was covered in local blue clay and placed at the centre of the fire until the clay broke, indicating the goose was cooked.<ref name=":1"/>

Another legend surrounding the origin of the Michaelmas goose is that [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth I]] was eating a goose on the holiday when she heard of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and thus proclaimed that geese should be eaten by everyone each year in commemoration of the victory. This falls apart when the date (geese and Michaelmas were connected at least a century earlier, if not longer) and the timing of the battle (August) are considered.<ref name=":2" />

The custom of baking a special bread or cake, called {{lang|gd|Sruthan Mhìcheil}} ({{IPA|gd|ˈs̪t̪ɾu.an ˈviːçal}}), ''St.&nbsp;Michael's bannock'', or ''Michaelmas bannock'', on the eve of the Feast of Saint Michael, the Archangel, probably originated in the Hebrides. The bread was made from equal parts of barley, oats, and rye without using any metal implements.<ref name=cooks>{{cite web
 |author=Oulton, Randal W.
 |date=13 May 2007
 |title=Michaelmas Bannock
 |website=Cooksinfo.com
 |url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/michaelmas-bannock
 |access-date=29 September 2015
}}
</ref>
In remembrance of absent friends or those who had died, special ''Struans'', blessed at an early morning Mass, were given to the poor in their names.<ref>
{{cite web
 |last=Goldman |first=Marcy
 |date=c. 2014
 |title=Peter Reinhart's struan: The harvest bread of Michaelmas
 |website=BetterBaking.com
 |url=http://www.betterbaking.com/struan.php
 |access-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222233700/http://www.betterbaking.com/struan.php
 |archive-date=22 February 2014
}}
:''Also here''
{{cite web
 |author=Reinhart, Peter
 |date=16 May 2017
 |title=Struan: The harvest-bread of Michaelmas
 |website=wbtv.com
 |publisher=[[WBTV]]
 |place=Charlotte, NC
 |type=article & recipe
 |url=https://www.wbtv.com/story/35441293/struan-the-harvest-bread-of-michaelmas/
}}
</ref>

Nuts were traditionally cracked on Michaelmas Eve.<ref>
{{cite news
 |last=Koenig |first=Chris
 |date=21 September 2011
 |title=Merry times at the Michaelmas Feast
 |newspaper=[[The Oxford Times]]
 |place=Oxford, UK
 |url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/lifestyle/history/9263878.Merry_times_at_the_Michaelmas_Feast/
 |access-date=27 March 2014
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327234542/http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/lifestyle/history/9263878.Merry_times_at_the_Michaelmas_Feast/
 |archive-date=27 March 2014
}}
:''Also here''
{{cite news
 |last=Koenig |first=Chris
 |date=21 September 2011
 |title=Merry times: Michaelmas feast
 |newspaper=[[The Oxford Mail]]
 |place=Oxford, UK
 |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9263878.merry-times-michaelmas-feast/
 |access-date=2022-10-15
 }}
</ref>

Folklore in the British Isles suggests that Michaelmas day is the last day that blackberries can be picked. It is said that when St.&nbsp;Michael expelled the devil, Lucifer, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, stamped, spat, and urinated on them, so that they would be unfit for eating. As it is considered ill-advised to eat them after 11&nbsp;October (Old Michaelmas Day according to the [[Julian Calendar]]), a Michaelmas pie is made from the last of the season.<ref name=bbc/> In Ireland, the soiling of blackberries is also attributed to a [[púca]].<ref name=":0"/>

==Differences in number of archangels==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| header = 
| image1 = St James' church, Grimsby (23493027445).jpg
| width1 = 103
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = St James' church, Grimsby (22864720174).jpg
| width2 = 100
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = Stained glass of the four archangels, at the [[Grimsby Minster|Anglican Church of St James, Grimsby]]. From left to right: Raphael, Michael, Uriel, and Gabriel
}}

In the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] on 29 September three Archangels are celebrated: Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael. Their feasts were unified in one common day during the second half of the 20th century. In the time before their feasts were: 29 September (only St Michael), 24 March for St Gabriel,<ref>''Butler's Lives of the saints'', vol. 1, edited by [[Herbert Thurston]] and [[Donald Attwater]], Christian Classics, 1981 {{ISBN|9780870610455}}</ref> and 24 October for St Raphael.<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (''Libreria Editrice Vaticana'', 1969), p. 143)</ref>

In the [[Lutheran]], as well as in the [[Anglican]]/[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]] traditions, there are three to four archangels in their calendars for the 29 September feast for St. Michael and All Angels: namely [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] (Jude 1:9) and [[Gabriel]] (Daniel 9:21),<ref name="Blersch2019">{{cite web |last1=Blersch |first1=Jeffrey |title=St. Michael and All Angels |url=https://www.pacifichillslutheran.org/news/st-michael-and-all-angels.html |publisher=Pacific Hills Lutheran Church |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201093647/https://www.pacifichillslutheran.org/news/st-michael-and-all-angels.html |archive-date=1 February 2023 |language=English |date=21 September 2019}}</ref> [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]] ([[Book of Tobit|Tobit]] 12:15) and sometimes [[Uriel]] ([[2 Esdras]] 4:1 and 2 Esdras 5:20).{{efn-ua|In traditional Protestantism, such as the Lutheran Churches, Anglican Churches and Anabaptist Churches, [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] lies in the Old Testament and [[Revelation]] is in the [[New Testament]]. [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]] and [[2 Esdras]] are intertestamental books, being a part of the [[Biblical apocrypha|Apocrypha]] section of the Protestant Bible that straddles the Old Testament and New Testament.}}<ref name="TLC2023">{{cite web |title=Truss Carvings: Heroes of the Faith |url=https://www.historictrinity.org/our-history/architecture/stone-carvings/ |publisher=Trinity Lutheran Church |access-date=20 May 2023 |language=English}}</ref><ref name=Tristam>{{cite web|url=http://www.excitingholiness.org/first-edition/index.cgi?m09/d29.html |title= Michael & All Angels |publisher=Exciting Holiness |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urielsg.org/Sections-read-7.html |title=St. Uriel the Archangel |publisher=Urielsg.org |access-date=29 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512004043/http://www.urielsg.org/sections-read-7.html |archive-date=12 May 2008 }} [https://www.urielsg.org/our-patron-saint Also here]</ref><ref>Episcopal Church, Standing Liturgical Commission. [https://www.episcopalcommonprayer.org/uploads/1/2/3/0/123026473/lesser_feasts_and_fasts_2006.pdf#page=404&zoom=auto,-118,485 ''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</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/254.html |title=Michael and All Angels |publisher=Justus.anglican.org |access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Michael and All the Angels |website=Christ Episcopal Church Eureka |date=September 2007 |page=6 |url=http://christchurcheureka.org/documents/ChronicleSeptember.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004070430if_/http://christchurcheureka.org/documents/ChronicleSeptember.pdf#page=6&zoom=100,451,276 |archive-date=4 October 2008 }}</ref>

==Autumn term in universities==
{{Main|Michaelmas term}}
Michaelmas is used in the extended sense of autumn, as the name of the first [[Michaelmas term|term]] of the academic year, which begins at this time, at various educational institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland and those parts of the Commonwealth in the northern hemisphere.<ref name=Johnson/> These include the universities of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], London,  [[Durham University|Durham]], [[Lancaster University|Lancaster]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], [[Swansea University|Swansea]], and [[Trinity College, Dublin|Dublin]].  However, the [[Ancient universities of Scotland|ancient Scottish universities]] used the name [[Martinmas]] for their autumn term, following the old Scottish term days.<ref>[https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/semester-dates/ "Semester dates" University of St. Andrews]</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Innerview Michaelmas Term |url=https://d17g388r7gqnd8.cloudfront.net/2017/01/michaelmas2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929175029/https://d17g388r7gqnd8.cloudfront.net/2017/01/michaelmas2013.pdf |archive-date=2020-09-29 |url-status=live |website=Inner Temple |access-date=29 September 2020 |pages=26–27}}</ref>

The term is also the name of the first of four terms into which the legal year is divided by the courts of Ireland<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/16c93c36d3635d5180256e3f003a4580/ab69fb8f78e2b4c9802580a50056dcf7?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607180505/http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/16c93c36d3635d5180256e3f003a4580/ab69fb8f78e2b4c9802580a50056dcf7?OpenDocument |archive-date=7 June 2017 |title= High Court Sittings: Law Terms |date=8 May 2017 |website=The Courts Service of Ireland |access-date=30 March 2018}} [https://www.courts.ie/content/high-court-law-terms Also here]</ref> and England and Wales.<ref>{{citation|author1=The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|author2=Judicial Committee of the Privy Council|title=Judicial Sitting for the Michaelmas Term, Monday 4th October –Tuesday 21st December 2010|url=https://www.supremecourt.uk/docs/michaelmas_term_2010_v03.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408221228/http://www.supremecourt.uk/docs/michaelmas_term_2010_v03.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-08 |url-status=live |access-date=8 November 2010}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland, a [[Red Mass]] is traditionally convened on the Sunday closest to Michaelmas, in honor of and to bless lawyers and judges.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gabriel the Archangel: March 24 |url=https://www.saintsfeastfamily.com/copy-of-gabriel-the-archangel-march-1 |website=saints-feast-family |access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref>

While terms are not used by most courts in the United States, where court calendars are usually continuous and year-round, the [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] operates on an annual term and roughly follows the English custom by beginning that term on the first Monday in October, a few days after Michaelmas.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Court and Its Procedures |work=Supreme Court of the United States |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/procedures.aspx |access-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626000156/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/procedures.aspx |archive-date=26 June 2022 |url-status=live |ref=none}}</ref>

==Modern observances==
[[File:Police Week Blue Mass 2013 (8739367386).jpg|left|thumb|[[Blue Mass]]]]
Because Saint Michael is the patron of police officers, Michaelmas may also see a [[Blue Mass]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-09-29 |title=Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels – September 29, 2014 – Liturgical Calendar |publisher=Catholic Culture |access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref> Lutheran Christians consider it a principal feast of Christ.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Michaelmas is still celebrated in [[Waldorf education|Waldorf]] schools. [[Rudolf Steiner]] considered it the second most important festival after [[Easter]]. The celebration  of this holiday teaches the importance of facing fears and strengthening resolve. As the first festival of the new school year, it is celebrated with an all-school play, in which each class assumes a role, such as peasants, townspeople, nobles, etc. Students assume a new role as they pass from grade to grade, and it becomes something of a rite of passage.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.waldorfnola.org/post/what-is-michaelmas-and-why-do-waldorf-school-celebrate-it | title=What Is Michaelmas And Why Do Waldorf Schools Celebrate It? | publisher=Waldorf School of New Orleans | date=26 September 2019}}</ref>

In the [[City of London]], Michaelmas is the day when the new [[Lord Mayor of London]] is elected, in the ''Common Hall''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liverycompanies.info/fellowship-of-clerks/elections/summons-to-common-hall.html|title=Summons to Common Hall |publisher=liverycompanies.info |access-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>

In [[Mifflin County, Pennsylvania]], Michaelmas has been observed since 1786 as Goose Day. Local tradition holds that eating goose on 29 September will bring prosperity. The [[Juniata River]] Valley began celebrating this version of Michaelmas when a [[Pennsylvania Dutch]]man named Andrew Pontius moved his family to neighboring [[Snyder County, Pennsylvania|Snyder County]] to farm. When his farm prospered, he decided to hire a tenant farmer to help. On his way to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] to hire a German immigrant, he stopped in [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] for the night where he met a young Englishman named Archibald Hunter, who was offered the job. The contract that was drawn for employment contained a clause specifying their accounts were to be settled each year on the traditional day to do so, 29 September. When that day came, Hunter appeared at Pontius' door with his accounts and a goose, explaining that in England, eating a goose on 29 September brought good luck. The tradition spread to nearby [[Lewistown, Pennsylvania]], where it is still honored today with many local restaurants and civics groups offering goose dinners, local festivals, and other county-wide activities. In honor of the holiday, painted fiberglass goose statues can be found throughout the county all year long.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goose Day – Juniata River Valley|date=25 August 2021 |url=https://jrvvisitors.com/events/goose-day/|access-date=2021-09-29|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-23|title=What's special about Mifflin County on Goose Day?|url=https://www.pennlive.com/life/2018/09/whats_special_about_mifflin_co.html|access-date=2021-09-29|website=pennlive|language=en}}</ref>

==Old Michaelmas Day==
Old Michaelmas Day falls on 11 October (10 October according to some sources – the dates are the result of [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750|the shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar]] so the gap widens by a day every century except the current one). It is said that the Devil fell out of Heaven on this date, and fell into a blackberry bush, cursing the fruit as he fell. According to an old legend, [[blackberry|blackberries]] should not be picked after this date (see above). In [[Yorkshire]], it is said that the devil spat on them. According to Morrell (1977), this old legend is well known in all parts of [[Great Britain]], even as far north as the [[Orkney Islands]]. In Cornwall, a similar legend prevails; however, the saying goes that the devil urinated on them.<ref name=Taylor/>

==See also==
*[[St Michael and All Angels Church (disambiguation)|St Michael and All Angels Church]]
*[[Aster (genus)|Michaelmas daisy]]
* [[Scottish term days]]
* [[Turamichele]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Morrell, P. (1977). ''Festivals and Customs''. London: Pan (Piccolo). {{ISBN|0-330-25215-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060622181314/http://mw.mcmaster.ca/scriptorium/alice_site/michaelmas_more_end.html Alice's Medieval Feasts & Fasts: Michaelmas]
* [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06330a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': St. Gabriel the Archangel]
* [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12640b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': St. Raphael the Archangel]
* [https://www.communityofhopeinc.org/Prayer%20Pages/Saints/saint%20michael.html Prayers Dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel]
* [https://www.missionstclare.com/english/people/sep29.html Michael and All Angels]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Public holidays in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Michael (archangel)]]
[[Category:Quarter days]]
[[Category:Saints' days|Michael]]
[[Category:September observances]]

[[de:Michael (Erzengel)#Festtag]]