CHRISTMAS AND THE AMISH

I'm deeply involved in Christmas preparations right now, as I'm sure you are. Gifts to buy and then wrap, decorations to be put up, cookies and special holiday treats to bake, and Christmas parties and dinners, enough to send an introvert like me into hiding!

We'll have fourteen people around our Christmas dinner table--but that is nothing compared to the numbers when an Amish family gathers for their holiday celebration. Because of the large families and the fact that extended families typically live close to each other, a Christmas family gathering might have sixty or eighty people!

Usually that large family gathering is not held on Christmas Day. Instead, celebrations are spread over a longer period. Some families might have their get-together on Second Christmas, the day after Christmas which is usually reserved for visiting friends and relatives. Other might choose to have a family celebration on New Year's, or some other day that works well for the entire family.

As for that gift list of mine, which sometimes seems to be getting out of hand-- The Amish give gifts to each other during the holidays, but they are typically small items, often something that is handmade for the recipient to treasure. Most Amish schools have a gift exchange, and in areas where home schooling is more popular, the children who are home-schooled might get together and exchange names for a holiday party. And of course, the teacher must receive a gift--again, usually something handmade or baked.

Most Amish do not take their children to see Santa, although some do, depending upon the particular community, and Santa doesn't leave presents under a tree, since there is no tree. But it's common for children to receive small gifts on Christmas morning, followed no doubt by other gifts as they visit, or are visited by, their grandparents.

The fact that they don't put up a tree doesn't mean that there are no signs of Christmas in an Amish household. Here in Pennsylvania, with our strong Pennsylvania Dutch traditions, it's common to see greens and candles in the house as the season approaches. The children may pounce on every Christmas card that arrives, eager to add it to a string or tape it to a door frame so that everyone can enjoy it each time they pass.

The school Christmas program is a huge part of the celebration in Amish communities which have their own schools. The children spend excited weeks preparing for the presentation, which is done in English. Teachers may spend even more time, collecting the poems, readings, and songs which the children will learn! The poems and readings focus on the meaning of the season, often stressing the importance of having an attitude of thankfulness and the joy of doing for others. By the time every scholar's parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and other relatives file into the one-room school, it's crowded with an uncritical audience ready to enjoy every minute of the program, even the occasional error or forgotten line!

And what would Christmas be without baking? Most families have their special Christmas cookie traditions, and during the days and weeks before the holiday, the house is filled with those special aromas which say Christmas in any language.

Wishing you all the joy and peace of the season,

Marta

Amish and the Law

When I was doing the research for my latest book, MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT, which will be out from HQN Books the end of November, I spent a good bit of time sorting out what the society in general believes about the Amish reaction to the law from the truth. In my story, an Amish teenager is accused of the murder of a young woman with whom he was apparently involved. The protagonist is a female attorney from Philadelphia who is brought in to defend him. Amish relationship with the law is a big part of the story, and I needed to know how that would play out from the Amish perspective, so that I could attempt to portray the different reactions.

For the Amish, living separate from the world generally means that while they are very law-abiding themselves, they are reluctant to turn to the law for help. In some instances, outside groups have helped to obtain lawyers to represent the Amish when their beliefs and practices run afoul of government regulations, as in the celebrated school disputes of the 1950s, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. In more recent years, this sort of dispute with the government has resurfaced over requirements to have photo IDs, since the Amish object on religious grounds to having their photographs taken. This controversy boiled up recently in Missouri, with numbers of Old Order Mennonites planning to move to another state if they were required to do so.

The Amish do use attorneys' services to draw up wills, handle real estate transactions, set up business partnerships, etc., but they are unwilling, or at least reluctant, to use the legal system to protect their rights. Unfortunately, this has led to a number of situations in which others have bilked Amish individuals or businesses, knowing that the Amish are unlikely to sue them.

For much the same reason, the Amish in some areas have been the victims of thefts, home break-ins, and vandalism. It may be that the perpetrators are drawn to people they believe will not fight back. In one recent incident, someone had been repeatedly breaking in Amish businesses, apparently feeling that he could get away with it more easily than tackling an English business. One business owner, frustrated at being robbed several times, hid an infrared hunting camera in his place of business, catching the suspect on tape. While the Amish do not believe in taking photos of themselves, their beliefs don't prevent them from taking a picture of someone else, especially if it helps to catch a thief!

Local police in some heavily Amish areas have begun cooperating more and more with the Amish to deal with and prevent problems. They will speak at meetings to educate parents about drug use, for instance. Some meet regularly with the bishops in their area to discuss any issues or problems they see, particularly with young people, so that the church can actively help to address them. In respect to the law, as in so many other aspects of modern culture, it seems the Amish balance on a constantly shifting line to maintain their traditional faith in a modern world.

Horses, Real and Imagined

ANNA'S RETURN, the third book in the Pleasant Valley series, will be out in less than a month. I just love the cover--I think it's the best yet. The figure in the background is Samuel, Anna's hero. In addition to working in the machine shop owned by Anna's brother, Samuel is known far and wide for his talent with horses. Like the character in THE HORSE WHISPERER, Samuel even seems to know what the creatures are thinking.

We had horses for a number of years while our kids were growing up, and while I learned to love them, I can't say I always understood them. How is it that a creature the size of a horse can become suddenly terrified of a piece of blowing paper? And stubborn! My son had a small dun pony, Ginger, who was the stubbornest animal ever born, I think. Fortunately my son was equally stubborn!

Some might say that the horse is the quintessential symbol of what it means to be Amish in twenty-first century America. By choosing to travel by horse and buggy, to work their fields with horse-drawn equipment, the Amish are making a sacrifice and a decision which impacts their lives every day. A sacrifice, because it takes time and trouble and effort to travel by horse and buggy, which makes each trip a matter for consideration. Is it really necessary? Sometimes I think our lives, and our planet, would be better off if all of us asked ourselves that question.

By choosing to use the horse instead of the car, the Amish are automatically putting restrictions on themselves--restrictions as to how far they will travel, how fast they will go, how quickly the work will be done. Horses symbolize the slower pace of Amish life. In fact, they contribute to that. If you can't jump into the car and drive off to the mall to shop or see a movie, you're more likely to be doing things at home or in the community.

My car may need nothing more than fuel and regular maintenance, but a horse requires much, much more. It must be taken care of every single day: fed, watered, turned in and turned out, its stall cleaned. One can't just park it and walk away, and that constant care for another living creature is a responsibility that must be taken seriously.

I saw a young Amish man one day training a young horse to the buggy, a task that takes endless patience. He had been driving it along the narrow country road, and when it balked at traffic he drew off into a graveled lot and started all over again--working with the animal, getting it used to traffic, patiently repeating the lesson he'd been teaching it.

That endless patience can be one of the gifts of Amish life. It's one I've tried to highlight in ANNA'S RETURN. Writing about it has already been a gift for me, bringing back memory after memory of the 'horse years.' They weren't necessarily all happy memories, but with every incident, there was something of value to be learned, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.