Brenda Nixon's Blog, page 9

Amish Olde Christmas

Greetings! I hope you enjoyed a meaningful and memorable Christmas. Reading my last post and seeing the family pictures, you can see that we did!

Did you know some Amish observe January 6 as Olde Christmas? This day is respectedby rest, fasting, solemnness and, for the strict Swartzentruber order,no sex between married couples.Seriously. It's part oftheir Ordnung.

Amish businesses areclosed, and their workers as well as scholars (school children) have the dayoff.

How in the world did this da...

Christmas with Ex-Amish

What a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and extended family!

Lynsey, Harvey, Josh, Sarah, Monroe, Paul Lynsey, Harvey, Josh, me, Sarah, MonroeOur daughter and son-in-love - Lynsey & Harvey - Josh, Sarah, and Monroe arrived at 6 PM for Christmas Eve dinner. Lasagna. Ham. Green Beans. Cottage cheese & homemade Applesauce (two Amish meal musts), followed by my homemade zucchini bread and brightly colored Christmas cookies. Other than missing our daughter, Laura, who is overseas,...

It's Sad. Breaks My Heart

Destructive division. Between husband and wife. Children and their grandparents. Friends. Community. And caused by the not-so-simple Amish.

An Amish man is desperate to leave. His wife wants to stay. She's paralyzed with fear. He's immobilized with turmoil. The couple is torn. His young children may be cut off from their grandparents.

He's talked to me about it. Here's the complex back story:

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Amish Christmas

Often I read sweeping generalizations about the Amish Christmas. Remember, there are many different Orders - or flavors as Noah says - so one story cannot apply to all Amish. True, a few orders celebrate Christmas similar to us outsiders.

There are variations between each order and diversity among the settlements within an order. Confusing, eh? Outsiders get mixed up when learning about this 400-year-old culture. This blog has and always will apply to the strictest orders within the Amish disc...

Plain Talk about Amish Thanksgiving

"Do you like turkey?" I asked Monroe (who just left his Swartzentruber Order).

"Haven't had it," he answered.

"You haven't eaten turkey?"

"No."

Wow, that surprised me! Maybe it's just his family. Harvey, Mosie, and the others love turkey! And being raised on large farms, they love hunting.

So do the Amish acknowledge or celebrate Thanksgiving?

Some do. Some don't. They're aware of our "English" commemoration of this day but, as separatists from an Anabaptist tradition, many orders don't recognize...

Real Compexities of the Simple Life

I love the paradox of this title. There isgreat complexity behind the façadeof the simple Amish life.

FrequentlyI'm asked about the Amish Anabaptist heritage . Amish and Mennonite are religious cousins - both coming from this 16th century Europeanmovement. At that time, Anabaptism was a radical Protestant departure from the dominant Roman Catholic Church, where the bishop was both the secular and spiritual ruler.

One Anabaptist thrust was separation of church and state."State" me...

My Amish Buggy Ride

One Summer evening, around sunset, we visited Monroe and Sarah's brother -- who is still Amish. While at his farm, 15-year-old Amish Enos, who had been visiting, was ready to leave the property. "Oh wait," I called out to Enos. "Can I have a ride in your buggy?"

Enos grinned and invited me to jump on board his open buggy. This type is used for hauling hay and other bulky items, similar to how we use a pickup truck. He hitched up the horse with ease and deft while I sat...

An Amish Halloween

Nope! They don't do Halloween. But when I revisit a particular Swartzentruber Amish home, I know their children love candy. Small pieces of sweets find their way out of my pocket and into tiny outstretched hands. "Denke," they say in response to their father's reminder to say thanks.

Now this isn't to say that some of the "rebel" Amish teens don't pull pranks. Soaping windows and burning a farmer's corn shocks near the road are but a couple of common pra...

Amish Farm Life

Did you know the Amish have different types of horses? Mosie said he grew up with about 15 horses on his farm.

Here's the typical breakdown: road horses (ones that pull buggies), farm horses (usually Belgium or Percheron), and draft mule (donkey and horse mix). The road horse I'm comfortable with but, those heavy Belgiums intimidate me. They're beautiful but BIG, weighing from one to two thousand pounds! I'm astonished when I see youngsters working or playing - with no fear - a...

Amish say, "It's God's Will"

One of the reasons my son-in-law left was to avoid it. When I recently spoke on Amish Customs and Beliefs, an audience member asked me about it? A blog reader asked me about the incidence within the Amish.

What am I talking about? Genetic problems and emotional disorders among the Amish. Sadly, these challenges are common. (Tweet that) My post today isn't meant to disrespect the Amish but to reveal one of their issues. One they are just now realizing and beginning to address.

Sometimes settleme...