A Few Michaelmas Resources
Happy Friday!
There’s something about Fridays in the fall that make me feel nostalgic for the “good old days” growing up in the 80s and 90s. Remember TGIF? Step by Step, Family Matters, Full House. The crunch of leaves under your feet as you walked home from school. The first crisp morning. Maybe it’s all the seasonal activities this time of year that take us back to our childhoods
My youngest took a field trip to the apple orchard this week. It was essentially the same trip we took the year before. Apple orchards and pumpkin patches are thankfully frozen in time. These outings look very similar to the ones I took as a child. Same old tractors pulling hay rides. Same cider, same doughnuts.
We were limited the golden delicious section (boo), but we will try to make the best of it…with pie.
We love and depended on these traditions to anchor us to something more permanent than a seasonal coffee. When I wrote about the importance of the liturgical calendar in helping to bring order to an otherwise disordered calendar, I ended by mentioning Michaelmas as a good point of reference for celebrating autumn.
This year Michaelmas falls on Sunday. This Sunday in fact. Celebrating the feast of the Archangels, Rafael, Gabriel and Michael, this particular feast day is beloved by Catholics, Waldorf schools, police officers, paratroopers, dudes named Michael, folks who attend a St. “Mikes” parish and anyone looking for an excuse to wear leggings, eat yummy food and think about Satan getting the whooping he so richly deserves.
If you’re new to celebrating feast days, there are women (and some men I’m sure too) on the internet who have this whole living the liturgical year thing down to a science. They’re like liturgical calendar ninjas. They’ve got you covered.
Go see Haley Stewart or Kendra Tiereny first. This book is an awesome resource if you can get your hands on a copy in the next few days (Prime one day?). Blessed is She had a great round up of resources a few years ago.
We’ve only been celebrating Michaelmas for a few years and keep it pretty low key. We will go to mass of course. We’ve got a framed St. Michael’s prayer we might recite. And as per usual, we will use the day as an excuse to feast!
We’ll roast a chicken or two (no geese for us). This recipe from Ina Garten is great. I really love the America’s Test Kitchen approach which has you preheating a cast iron pot first to help crisp up the skin.
For fun, I’ll make deviled eggs and while I’ve done angel food cake in the past, I’m thinking I might try angel hair pasta. Maybe I’ll shave up a few brussel sprouts and add a little bacon to the pasta too. Oh, and there will be blackberries of course. Maybe a little blackberry jam as well.
Check out the links above for more (and better) ideas and resources. Michaelmas is a perfect “starter” feast day. It’s a low maintenance way to explore feast days and the liturgical year. We only properly celebrate a few throughout the year, but this one is a favorite!
