Amish Culture

Last year we noted an exhibition of photographs by Dennis L. Hughes, who captured thousands of images of Amish life. This exhibition, at Elizabethtown College (Lancaster County, PA) has returned, and is currently running until August 4th. If you’d like to view the collection here’s more on how to do that, along with a link […]

Continue Reading Dennis L. Hughes Amish Photo Exhibition (Lancaster County & More)

A viewer recently asked if Amish marriages are arranged on the Amish America YouTube channel. Odds are you already know the answer to this one. But I can kind of see where the question might come from, when looking at this religious society, which certainly must appear “strict” to some, from the outside. The question […]

Continue Reading Are Amish marriages arranged? How do they find a spouse? (Video)

Gloria Yoder opens up in the new Amish Cook column today about the loss of her husband Daniel. I know a lot of readers have been following this story and will want to know what Gloria has to share in this time of great loss. It has now been two weeks since Daniel died in […]

Continue Reading Gloria Yoder Writes On Loss Of Husband Daniel

Lancaster Online reached out to Steven Nolt of the Young Center at Elizabethtown College on when Amish weddings take place in Lancaster County and related settlements. He provided some data based on the Amish publication Lancaster Gemeinde Brief, which is a church newsletter. Autumn and specifically November is traditionally the most common time for Amish […]

Continue Reading Lancaster Amish Weddings By Month

Amish baby-naming customs draw upon several sources. Many baby names are what you could term “traditional” names (Biblical names and family names). But in certain communities, the choice of baby name can also be affected by modern, non-Amish naming trends. Of course, in some settlements and groups they are going to stick with mostly or […]

Continue Reading Austin, Jenna, Ethan? Changing Trends in Amish Baby Names

I do believe this is the largest snowman I’ve ever seen. Amish children in Geauga County put together a towering snowman – about 5 or 6 times taller than the tallest child – over the course of several days. Via FOX8: Resident Hannah Willis said the kids used ladders, shovels, buckets and plywood to create […]

Continue Reading Amish Children Build 30-Foot-Tall Snowman

Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder shares some words of wisdom coming from nearly 12 years of marriage in her latest column this week. She also comments on celebrations of Valentine’s Day among the Amish and in her own home. I’ll share an excerpt focusing on that aspect, and you can find the rest of her […]

Continue Reading Gloria Yoder: On Marriage & Valentine’s

This practice dates back to the colonial era, according to John Hostetler. From Amish Society, p. 234 (footnote 1): The Amish practice of calling outsiders “English”…can be traced to language and ethnic-group differences in colonial times. Compact settlements of Germans were distinguished from the English, French, and Spanish colonies in the New World. The Germans […]

Continue Reading Why do Amish call us “English”? (Video)

I always enjoy Lovina’s column but this was nice to see – her daughter Susan took over writing duties last week. If you recall, Susan lost her husband Mose over a year ago, leaving behind two small children. In this column, Susan writes about her niece’s school Christmas program and dealing with her loss, among […]

Continue Reading Amish Kitchen: Lovina’s Daughter Susan Guest Writes

In this video I take a look at some Amish women’s hair customs, including the difference between a bonnet and a kapp, differences in prayer covering styles, and whether Amish women cut their hair. Runtime: 4:36.  

Continue Reading Bonnet or Kapp? (Video)