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
In the eighties and nineties, when I lived in mid Wales, we used to have a goose at Michaelmas. Gosh, those were the days.
ReplyDeleteThe wild blackberries were so poor this year that we have decided to grow a thornless dessert blackberry in the garden where we can water it when needed.
ReplyDeletePenny
I think the blackberries have had it since recent rain. The ones on dry banks never came to much, but I still have plenty in the freezer. I had a huge picking by the reservoir in the Elan valley.
ReplyDeleteBlackberries not so good on Norfolk this year either. But I picked some delicious raspberries in my sister in law's London garden yesterday
ReplyDeleteBlackberries here have been small and bitter. Definitely lack of rain and the glorious sunshine should have ripened them turning them sweet, lack of water kept them tight and hard. 😝
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I associate the term Michaelmas with the onset of plans for Christmas, perhaps it’s the goose thing or just that it’s nearly October?
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Thank you for another interesting post this morning-I really enjoyed learning some more about autumn customs. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThat's a much politer reason for not picking the blackberries than my gran told me. She said on a certain date, I can't honestly remember which one, 'the devil comes up and wees on the blackberry bushes' so we had to stop picking them. My vivid childhood imagination ran riot with that one.
ReplyDeleteThe harvest is a very special time of the year. In Maine where they are known for growing potatoes, farm family children have two weeks off of school to help with the harvest.
ReplyDeleteThe season is changing and the air is cooler. The days are noticeably shorter. At 6 AM it is still dark. I will miss the daylight.
For some reason I thought Michaelmas was closer to Christmas. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Nice post! Like the previous poster - I thought it was closer to Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I periodically read about Michaelmas in mysteries but I never knew the background.
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