Today is Michaelmas Day.... the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, celebrated on 29 September. Saint Michael is the patron saint of the sea and maritime lands, of ships and boatmen, of horses and horsemen. Traditionally he was the Angel who hurled Lucifer (the devil) down from Heaven for his treachery.
Michaelmas is one the four quarter days in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due. The quarter days have been observed at least since the Middle Ages, and they ensured that debts and unresolved lawsuits were not allowed to linger on. Accounts had to be settled, a reckoning had to be made and publicly recorded on the quarter days.
And as the Autumn Equinox happened just a couple of days ago, here are some Autumn colours. The reds, golds, yellows and purples.... a beautiful time of the year.
The fall term at my University was known as Michaelmas term. I like the historic names to be kept in use.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures of fall colors are lovely, thank you.
Yes, it was known as the Michaelmas term at my school too. I am trying to keep the name alive by posting about the quarter days.
DeleteI like the softness of the sumac in the first photo.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't like that I couldn't remember the name, sumac, for about 30 seconds. I was pretty sure it began with an s, but I couldn't get beyond succotash that was taking up space in my head for some reason.
You are not the only one who has sudden memory blanks, it happens to me also, far too often. Sometimes I have to resort to Google to find the right word.
DeleteThe photos are beautiful. The asters and goldenrod make such a beautiful bouquet for autumn.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in England, we called the purple flowers Michaelmas daisies, asters were a garden flower.
DeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the autumnal beauty and for the education. I have come across the term Michaelmas Day, but had no background for its significance. St Michael is very busy with wide ranging responsibilities. I did (thanks to reading widely) know about quarter days.
The autumn colours are so vibrant when the sun shines on them. But today its a grey day, rain forecast.
DeleteLovely fall colours!
ReplyDeleteLove the fall colours, they don't last very long.
DeleteThanks for the info on Michaelmas..I didn't know anything about it.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous colors around your area..not much is happening here yet.
Heat..which today is suppose to be 100F...and so much smoke in the air is causing problems with the trees.
Sue
100F and smoke too, I think it would be a good day to stay indoors!
DeleteI've only ever come across quarter days in historical novels! Not something that we have here, so I found your post very interesting.
ReplyDeleteLove all the colours in your photos :)
Quarter days don't feature in Canadian life either, but in Britain they are still observed in some instances. Yes, the colours are lovely when the sun shines!
DeleteThe photos are lovely. Fall colours are amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes, this is a marvellous time for colours.
DeleteEvery season has it's beauty but autumn has the colours, the stunning colours. Gorgeous pics Shammi 🍁🍂
ReplyDelete