Michaelmas

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Michaelmas

***** Location: England, Europe
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation


Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days; in England, it is one of the “quarter days”.

There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year

Lady Day (25th March),
Midsummer (24th June),
Michaelmas (29th Spetember) and
Christmas (25th December).

They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun. It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. It was the time at which new servants were hired or land was exchanged and debts were paid. This is how it came to be for Michaelmas to be the time for electing magistrates and also the beginning of legal and university terms.

Traditionally, in the British Isles, a well fattened goose, fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest, is eaten to protect against financial need in the family for the next year; and as the saying goes:

“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,
Want not for money all the year”.

In Scotland,
St Michael’s Bannock, or Struan Micheil (a large scone-like cake) is also created.
As the Struan is created by the eldest daughter of the family, the following is said:

“Progeny and prosperity of family,
Mystery of Michael,
Protection of the Trinity”


an Irish proverb goes:

“On Michaelmas Day the devil puts his foot on blackberries”.


The Michaelmas Daisy
The Michaelmas Daisy, which flowers late in the growing season between late August and early October, provides colour and warmth to gardens at a time when the majority of flowers are coming to an end. As suggested by the saying below, the daisy is probably associated with this celebration because, as mentioned previously, St Michael is celebrated as a protector from darkness and evil, just as the daisy fights against the advancing gloom of Autumn and Winter.

“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 Jude is 28 October)

The act of giving a Michaelmas Daisy symbolises saying farewell, perhaps in the same way as Michaelmas Day is seen to say farewell to the productive year and welcome in the new cycle.

Read more HERE:
source : www.historic-uk.com / © K.E. Struthers


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Aster tradescanti



. shion 紫苑 (しおん) Michaelmas daisy
shioni しおに、oni no shikogusa 鬼の醜草（おにのしこぐさ）
Aster tataricus


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Worldwide use


sei Mikaeru sai 聖ミカエル祭 (せいみかえるさい)
Feast of Saint Michael
sei Mikaeru no shujujitsu 仲秋 聖ミカエルの祝日
（せいみかえるのしゅくじつ）
September 29


. Feast of Saint Michael . 　　


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Michaelmas daisies
washing out with the tide
my daughter's footprint

Paul Conneally ‎
England

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Michaelmas
and the harvest moon ~
two halos

- Shared by Elaine Andre -
Joys of Japan, 2012


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Related words

***** Aster
plant kigo for all autumn


Aster (syn. Diplopappus Cass.)
is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus once contained nearly 600 species in Eurasia and North America, but after morphologic and molecular research on the genus during the 1990s, it was decided that the North American species are better treated in a series of other related genera. After this split there are roughly 180 species within the genus, all but one being confined to Eurasia.

The name Aster comes from the Ancient Greek word ἀστήρ (aster), meaning "star", referring to the shape of the flower head. Many species and a variety of hybrids and varieties are popular as garden plants because of their attractive and colourful flowers. Aster species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species — see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Aster. Asters can grow in all hardiness zones.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Callistephus
is a genus of flowering plants, in the Asteraceae (daisy family); the genus includes only one species, C. chinensis, the China Aster.

It is native to China, and is an annual plant, growing to 20-80 cm tall with branched stems. The leaves are alternate, 4-8 cm long, ovate, and coarsely toothed. The flowerheads are variable, with either all ray florets or an outer ring of ray florets surrounding central disc florets; the ray florets are white to purple, the disc florets, if present, usually yellow.

It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens, and numerous cultivars are available; the cultivars are grouped by size, with very dwarf (up to 20 cm), dwarf (20-40 cm), intermediate (40-60 cm) and tall (60-80 cm). In Japan, the species is very important in the floriculture industry for cut flowers.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



***** Chrysanthemum (kiku)


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