We are approaching one of the most popular feasts in the Christian liturgical year, that of St. Michael and All Angels, on September 29. For Christians, St. Michael is often seen as a great archangel who defeated Satan in the war in heaven. He is seen as the protector of Christians in darkness, and so as the earth turns and the nights become longer, it is fitting that St. Michael takes up his position to guard the world through winter, when evil forces are said to be stronger because there is less light to weaken them.
For our Tudor friends, this was also one of the “quarter days.” Quarter days were one of four days spaced about 3 months apart, generally around a solstice or equinox, when rents were paid, new servants hired, and often new magistrates were hired. For the September quarter day, held on the Feast of St Michael, it was also the time when the harvest was meant to be complete. For some universities it’s the start of a new term – the Michaelmas term – and it’s also a marker in the legal year.
Our Tudor friends would also often partake of the bounty of the season with fairs and feasts. This was basically the best things would be all year – fresh food stocked up for winter, fattened animals, and a period of rest after a season of very hard work. It was a traditional time to eat a goose, and indeed there are still some goose fairs in England, with a particularly famous one in Nottingham. There’s a saying that if you eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, you will have abundance all year long.
After Henry VIII split from the church, these fairs became less associated with St Michael, and are simply called Harvest fairs now. They are also called Wakes, which comes from the term Wake Fairs, when you would stay awake late in order to celebrate long into the night.
Interestingly, this is also the last day that blackberries can be eaten. Traditional belief is that when St. Michael expelled Satan from heaven, he landed in a blackberry bush. So any blackberries eaten after that day will be tainted by Satan. Many people would bake a blackberry pie on Michaelmas day.
You can celebrate Michaelmas yourself by enjoying the abundance of Autumn. Eat seasonal foods, and listen to music for a Tudor Feast, the album embedded above. There’s also this new album from the Choir of Westminster Abbey with music from across multiple centuries dedicated to St. Michael.
Want to learn more about seasonal celebrations in Medieval and Tudor England? Check out the book Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.