Ideas for Celebrating Michaelmas

Michaelmas, traditionally celebrated on September 29^th, is the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel. While Michaelmas is still celebrated in some areas of Europe, it has been mostly forgotten by the rest of the world.

Michaelmas celebrations date back to the sixth century. According to legend, Saint George, England's patron saint, was the Archangel Michael's earthly representative. Saint Michael threw Lucifer out of heaven for his treachery while Saint George slew dragons on Earth.

Traditionally, Michaelmas celebrations were harvest festivals. Music, dancing, food, costumes and games were the bulk of the festivities. Michaelmas was also the time that poor families, who worked hard all summer, were able to pay their rent. Children at a Michaelmas festival would pretend to be Saint George and reenact dragon slayings.

A Michaelmas celebration is a fun activity for the modern family.

Plan a Harvest Feast

A harvest supper, complete with any vegetables and fruits grown in your own garden, is a must for a Michaelmas celebration. If you are not a gardener, a feast made from all locally grown food purchased at a farmer's market is equally as delicious. For desert, bake a cake shaped like a dragon. Children will enjoy slaying their own slice of dragon cake.

Fun and Games

Dress in fun, medieval costumes. Knights and princesses can reenact St. George's dragon slayings with toys swords and pillows. Build castles out of blocks. Hold a medieval costume parade through the back yard. Play pin the tale on the dragon.

Story Telling

Read books about harvest time, dragons and knights. Check Amazon.com for the following titles.

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons is a fun, fictional book that uses a nonfiction format to study dragons. Beautifully illustrated, this book comes complete with samples of dragon skin and dragon dust.

Tales of King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone is a retelling of a classic legend that every child should know. What better time to read this than on Michaelmas?

Harvest Time, by Jennifer Waters and Joan Stewart, is for younger children. It includes activities related to gardening and harvest time.

Crafts

Make newspaper swords and hats. Create a sword in the stone out of a Styrofoam block. See familyfun.com for directions. Get creative and build this fantastic castle, also from the familyfun.com website. This one takes some planning and prep work. You could build it ahead of time and unveil it on Michaelmas. Add toy knights and dragons that you already own to keep the children engaged for hours.

A modern day Michaelmas celebration is a time for fun and creativity. How you celebrate Michaelmas is up to you. Focusing on either the harvest aspect, the dragon-slaying knight aspect or both leaves lots of room for interpretation. A Michaelmas celebration is a fun learning experience for the whole family.

Source: Mrs. Sharp's Traditions, Sarah Ban Breathnach, 1990