Celebrating Michaelmas in the Catholic Home

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Michaelmas, celebrated on September 29, is a feast day that honors St. Michael the Archangel, the great defender of heaven who cast Satan and his angels into hell.

This feast is rich in liturgical tradition, folklore, and seasonal meaning. Michaelmas provides Catholic families with a beautiful opportunity to celebrate both spiritually and classically in the home.

In this blog post, you’ll find practical liturgical living ideas, classical and literary inspiration, and family activities to bring the feast to life in your domestic church.

Liturgical & Traditional Catholic Ways to Celebrate Michaelmas

First and foremost, if you have the opportunity to attend Holy Mass, I would. Offer the day to St. Michael, protector of the Church and of our families. Here are a few other suggestions for keeping the day special and living it liturgically in the home:

• Pray Together as a Family: Recite the Prayer to St. Michael, and/or pray the Chaplet of St. Michael. Another idea for the morning is praying or singing the Te Splendor  (sung at the Office of St. Michael).
• Crafts for Children: Create angel peg dolls, fold paper angels, or decorate with golden stars, symbolizing heaven.
• Seasonal Foods: Roast a goose or chicken with carrots, apples, and herbs for a festive dinner. For dessert, enjoy a blackberry pie or crumble; tying into the folklore that when St. Michael cast Lucifer into hell, he landed in a blackberry bush. Or you can serve blackberry jam on fresh bread, bake muffins, or simmer a warm blackberry compote for breakfast (so good over pancakes or in oatmeal). I also have this delicious blackberry butter board recipe or this berry trifle recipe on my other blog.
• Michaelmas Daisy: Decorate your prayer table with asters, traditionally called Michaelmas daisies, as a reminder of the Archangels’ glory.

Classical & Poetic Mode Approaches to Michaelmas

Michaelmas fits beautifully within the poetic mode of education, where children are nourished on stories, myths, and images that awaken awe and wonder.

Literature & Storytelling

• Scripture: Read Revelation 12:7–12, recounting the great battle where St. Michael and his angels defeated the dragon.
• Legends of St. Michael: Share stories of his apparitions, such as Mont Saint-Michel in France or the Cave of Gargano in Italy.
• Dragon-Slaying Tales: Read myths and fairytales of heroes like St. George, Perseus, or Beowulf (perhaps, spread over the week…). Discuss how these stories foreshadow Christ’s victory and St. Michael’s role in defeating evil.
• Spiritual Reading:
  • St. Michael and the Angels
  • Saint Michael the Archangel

Regina Martyrum Productions also has a nice audio story available for purchase, St. Michael the Archangel – The Day the Angels Fell.

Themes for Wonder & Contemplation

• Dragons as Sin: Invite reflection on the “dragons” we face in daily life—fear, pride, temptation, etc.
• Order of the Angels: Share simplified teachings from St. Thomas Aquinas on the choirs of angels.
• Marking the Seasons: In medieval Europe, Michaelmas marked the end of harvest and the beginning of a new school term. Discuss how feast days once ordered society and how they can bring rhythm to our family life today as Traditional Catholics.

Family Activities + Practices

• Have a family Michaelmas Play: Children can dress as St. Michael and act out Revelation 12 or a dragon-slaying legend, like St. George and the dragon. My children always enjoy these type of activities, especially my only boy. 😅
• Shield Craft: Make cardboard shields painted with the words “Quis ut Deus?” (“Who is like God?”), St. Michael’s battle cry.
• Nature Walk: Collect autumn leaves, asters, and blackberries to decorate your liturgical or dinner table with.
• Art & Music:
  • Display artwork of St. Michael (such as Guido Reni’s famous painting; or the others that I’ve included in this post)
  • Listen to Gregorian chant or hymns from the feast.

A Poetic Mode Approach

Michaelmas is a great feast day for introducing mysteries of our faith in a poetic way. In celebrating it, families can help children:

• Join the Great Conversation: By reading Scripture alongside myth and poetry, children see how the pagan imagination pointed toward Christian truth. Read more about this in my post about Fairytales, Fables, Legends, and Myths in a Catholic Education
• Through stories of angels and dragons, children learn of realities beyond the senses.
• Set the scene with seasonal foods, flowers, and traditions.
• Cultivate Awe: In the rhythm of the year, Michaelmas reminds us that heaven and earth are bound together in the cosmic battle of good and evil.

Bringing It All Together

To celebrate Michaelmas at home, begin with prayer, feast at table, tell the great stories of angels and dragons, and let the rhythms of the season guide your family into wonder.

In doing so, we remind ourselves and our children that the Archangels are real protectors, that heaven is not far from earth, and that God has ordered all things in harmony and beauty.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!