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:
12/12/13
12/2/13
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 discipline spectrum - Old and Swartzentruber.
In my experience with our guys and gals who've left these two orders, here are some things I've learned about their Christmas customs:
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 discipline spectrum - Old and Swartzentruber.
In my experience with our guys and gals who've left these two orders, here are some things I've learned about their Christmas customs:- No decorations inside/outside the home
- No Christmas tree
- No Santa Clause stories
- No gifts are exchanged (Sarah's parents put candy in her shoes) but, this is changing within some settlements
- Christmas morning is a fasting time
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)