Today is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels or Michaelmas, a Quarter Day when farm rents were due, annual employment terms ended, local courts were held and children would finally go back to school after helping with the harvests. In some places it was called Pack Rag Day because the poorest farm labourers would be packing their few possessions to move to a new job.
From my book Cattern Cakes and Lace by Barbara Deer and Julia Jones
In one of my books it says that Michaelmas day is the last day that blackberries should be picked. It is said that when St Michael threw Lucifer, the devil, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a blackberry bush making the fruit useless.
BUT in another book this story is given for October 10th, this difference will be due to the change of calendar when 12 days were lost. In reality it probably depends on the weather and how damp it's been to make the blackberries mouldy.
This year the blackberries here were poor due to the drought and heat of summer and have been finished for several weeks already.
There are several other posts for Michaelmas HERE
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