What is the Feast of the Archangels?
The holiday is celebrated Thursday, September 29 this year and it honors the seven Archangels in the Christian tradition. Also known as Michaelmas, its main focus is on Michael, the Archangel who defeated Satan.
The Feast of the Archangels is a day in which Christians honor the purity of the world as Michael was able to crush the darkness that threatened humanity. He protects us against the dark of the night and he carries cosmic intelligence.
It is a day that is often associated with the autumn equinox, which marks the shortening of days for those in the northern hemisphere. For the English, Irish and Welsh, it is a day when debts should be settled.
To celebrate the Feast of the Archangels, a procession is held in some places such as Scotland. Sports, games and horse races are also common during this day.
Goose is one of the traditional meals of the day for this holidays. It is also the last day in which blackberries can be picked as it is said that when Michael expelled Satan from the heavens, he fell unto a prickly blackberry bush.
Presitigous British universities such as Oxford and Cambridge begin their autumn term on this day.
Saint Michael is also the patron of some police officers, making it a Blue Mass day.
