San Michele is a festival on September 29 with Christian and pagan roots, celebrating the autumn equinox and the end of harvest. St. Michael’s Day was a quarter day in the UK and is associated with the election of a reeve. The festival celebrates the strength of the Archangel Michael and has a tradition of avoiding blackberries after the feast.
San Michele is a festival held on September 29, with Christian religious origins and pagan roots to celebrate the autumn equinox. It is related to the end of the harvest, the beginning of the shorter and darker days that follow, and references regarding the actions of the Archangel Michael, who is said to have expelled Lucifer from Heaven during this period. The day may also be called the Feast of St. Michael, the Feast of Michael and All Angels, or the Feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raffaele. Technically angels aren’t saints, but that’s largely a semantic point.
You may also hear references in the British courts and most British schools to St. Michael’s term. This is usually a term that runs from late September to mid-December. Waldorf schools in the US can break terms the same way, with a St. Michael’s term.
In the UK, St. Michael’s Day was a feast day, as in most cases the harvest was over and the old date for the feast was 11 or 12 October. The day was called a quarter day as workers had been paid, bills were due, and all bills were due to be settled. Initially, the day was a holy day of precept according to the judgment of the Catholic Church, but it is no longer so. Indeed, the day’s celebration, except in Ireland, has largely been taken over by the Anglican Church and various other Protestant denominations. Catholics must not attend St. Michael’s Mass unless it falls on a Sunday.
Another tradition associated with St. Michael dates back to the 7th century. The servants chose the day to elect a reeve, a type of super servant or overseer who would help keep productivity up. The reeve also acted as an advocate for other serfs, to ensure they received their fair wages and to raise any matters of interest to the feudal lord or his agents.
In addition to being a harvest festival, the role of the angel Michael must be taken into account. Michael is the battle angel, but the party is not typically associated with belligerent behavior. Instead it is sometimes called the strong will festival, and celebrates Michael’s strength. Interestingly, when you look at the day, you’ll notice many references to the number of sick children in schools during St. Michael’s time. Perhaps a strong will was needed to withstand the early fall viruses, and it was certainly needed for the colder weather that would soon settle on uninsulated houses and small cottages.
In the past, an interesting tradition was the ban on picking blackberries after San Michele. This refers to the expulsion of Lucifer from Paradise. Michael is supposed to have thrown Lucifer from the sky and he landed in a thorn bush. After the annual feast, each thorn bush must be avoided in case Lucifer is still hiding in one.
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