September 28 and 29

Eve of MIchaelmas, Michaelmas

September 28, the eve of Michaelmass, was a time of prepation everywhere. In the Scottish Highlands, the Michaelmas lamb without blemish was killed and the Michaelmas cake prepared. The cake was made from all the grains harvested, butter, eggs, and sheep’s milk. It was then marked with a cross and cooked on a stone heated by a fire of sacred wood – oak, rowan and bramble wood.

The following day, September 29, was the feast of Michaelmas, a celebration for the Archangel, Captain of the Heavenly Hosts, who cast the devil out of Heaven and who is the patron saints of soldiers.

In the south of England, this was Quarter Day and a “setting day” when rents and bills were paid and laborers went to hiring fairs and seek new and/or better employment. Many of these fairs, such as the Goose Fair at Nottingham, were and still are famouse for the sale of geese, a favorite food served at Michaelmas supper.