Today is Ascension Day, commemorating Jesus’ physical ascension into heaven. The day, falling on the 40th day following Easter Sunday, is observed by Amish in some places and not in others.
The Amish in Lancaster County are among those that do, as are Amish in Holmes County, Ohio and northern Indiana. In contrast, in Adams County, Indiana, the day is “little noted by the church, with people going about their business as usual.”
In communities that observe Ascension Day, businesses are closed and Amish employees may have the day off from work (the Amish holiday schedule differs with mixed workplaces often offering different holidays for Amish and English employees).
An Indiana Amishman describes how Ascension Day is spent in his community: “Most businesses close for the day…A few businesses might stay open, but I don’t know of many that do. Mainly it’s a day of rest for us. We think about the meaning of the day. We spend time with the family. Some districts might have church.”
Raber’s Almanac lists important days in the Amish religious calendar
John Hostetler writes that “Ascension Day is observed as a day of rest or visiting, but on this day young people, or whole families, go out into the woods for picnics and the boys may go fishing” (Amish Society p. 224).
In The Riddle of Amish Culture Donald Kraybill quotes a Lancaster Amishman: “‘The day is for visiting and starts early for young and old alike. Uncles, cousins, and families congregate. Youth groups plan outings–softball and volleyball. Charter buses take youth and married folks to other communities 150 miles away to visit, relax, and ponder the philosophies of Amish life…'” (Riddle p. 150).
Beyond the Amish, Ascension Day is a religious holiday in numerous Christian churches. Does your church observe Ascension Day?
Ascension Day is definitely observed in the Paoli and Orleans,
Ind., communities I often visit. I think it is the least well-known religious holiday amongst non-Amish who visit Amish communities. I’m sure that many non-Amish have gone to Amish
stores/farms to purchase things on Ascension Day and have found on that day it is “no sale”. It is hard to remember because it changes every year and often falls on a weekday. I’ll never forget
on Ascension Day in 2011, I went to an Amish farm at Paoli to place
a large order for produce and found at the driveway into the farm two large sawhorses, with ropes hung in-between stating, “No sales today – religious holiday”. This was interesting, because on Sundays they just have a simple sign by the driveway “No sales today”.
We do celebrate it in our church, but in our archdiocese (I am a Catholic) the observation of it is transferred to the Sunday following. In other diocese it is observed on the Thursday. It is left to the perogative of the diocese whether to observe it on Thursday or Sunday
The Amish in Moravia, Iowa close their businesses and plant their gardens
Yes. I am United Methodist and we celebrate on the closest Sunday.
Amish Traveling Reminder...
I am out on a trek to visit a bunch of Amish communities. I learned about the Ascension Holiday while at the Oak Ridge Country Store in Cadiz,KY. (875 Burkley Rd) There was a sign on the door indicating that they would be closed the next day (today)for a holiday. The woman at the counter acted amazed that I was not aware of the holiday.
This does not bode well for me hitting several other Amish communities I had planned to hit today in Missouri. (Seymour, Fordland and Marshfield, MO)It reminds me that I need to check the Amish holiday calendar next time I plan on such a trip.
Ascension Day
The Amish here in Ethridge, Tennessee also observe Ascension Day. It is a day of rest and visiting for them. No sales. They always observe it on Thursday as do our Catholic churches in the area. It is different every year because it is 40 days after Easter, but they celebrate the Thursday before the fortieth day.
Thanks for the Quote!
Thanks for quoting from my blog I write for the LaGrange County CVB, online at: www.VisitShipshewana.org. Glad you noticed, and yes, it’s quiet around our Amish backroads today!
Thanks Tammy, yes I linked to your post which I found at backroads.org. Good info!
Thank you, Erik, you made me pick up my “Old Farmers Almanac” for the first time in a little while, to see their list of Moveable Religious Feasts, which does note Ascension Day..
I think having a feast day and observation chart somewhere on Amish America might be useful to travelers so they don’t rudely interrupt an Amish family in the middle of a family focused observation. Maybe this entry could be a genesis of such a thing. I wouldn’t want to walk in on an Amish family having reflection time or quiet time, and would be nice to know when what is going on, being out of the loop religiously and all.
While I think it would be nice to have such a list, in my recent travels to several Amish places in Kentucky and Missouri I found that not all of them do the same thing, even within the church district.
Above I posted about “Amish Traveling Reminder…” because I thought I found out that all Amish celebrate the Ascension. (according to the lady at the store in Cadiz,KY) Knowing that I slept in the next morning, getting out of my motel around 9am. I decided I would head towards the next Amish community and spend the night so I could visit them Friday, the day after the feast of Ascension. Low and behold I find that the conservative Amish in Seymour, MO do NOT do anything special for the day. One store there was closed, but only because of a wedding. Another store was closed because it was a Thursday, a day off for them to do other things. Yet most Amish stores were open.
I felt bad because I ended up wasting most of my morning going slow, missing out on some time I could have spent chatting with the Amish.
So, my advice, keep the Amish holidays in the back of your mind as you make plans, but unless you know for 100%, don’t assume all Amish follow the holidays in the same way.
Interesting Al. The Amish at Seymour are related to those in Adams County Indiana.
We always have a church service on Ascension Day at night.