The Amish

Yesterday was a beautiful day so we headed out to Amish country to shop.
Since I mention the Amish so much on my blog, I thought I would tell you a bit about them.

The Amish religion started in Switzerland.

The Amish speak 3 languages.  They speak English in school, Pennsylvania Dutch at home and Hoch Deutsch (high German) during worship.

Men never cut their beards though no mustaches are allowed.  Woman never cut their hair.

You can't convert to Amish.  There are roughly 180,000 Amish in the USA and they are not recruiting.  You are born into the religion and they accept very few converts.

Most Amish children only go to school through 8th grade.  After that, they are expected to work with their family.

Amish are allowed to ride in cars though they are not permitted to drive them.

Amish dolls do not have faces.

The Amish practice bundling.  When a man and woman are courting, they will be wrapped tightly in sacks and laid on a bed so they can develop intimacy without sex. Some have bundling beds which is a bed with a board down the middle to prevent intimacy.  

Because of inbreeding, many Amish have impairments but these are accepted in each community and are not frowned upon. 

As we were driving through Amish country, we saw a sign for Pick ur Own Blueberries and we did just that.  Picking blueberries is a lot of work!

I bought lots of tomatoes for sauce.

And rhubarb!  What a surprise, I thought the season was over.

In my attempt to eat as much corn as possible this summer, I bought another dozen. In Amish country, they give you 13 ears in a dozen.

Comments

Anonymous said…
what a wonderful trip! Lots of beautiful produce, your blueberries are beautiful, the wild blueberries here are so much smaller,
Michelle said…
We have a growing Amish community here in central Kentucky. Wonderful people.
Nellie said…
Lovely countryside! My husband is picking our blueberries now. I really should be helping him, but blogging is more fun.:-)
CYNTHIA CRANE said…
Great informative post! Since moving north into the eastern panhandle of WV in 2012, I haven't had a chance to travel up into Pa. to visit the Amish communities there but plan to. Lovely blueberries, YUM! lucky you!
Anonymous said…
I do like the Amish, they have their rules and I would never be able to follow them, some are rather nasty like the shunning.

I actually have a few blue berries on one bush, I thought they all had frozen that late frost night. I can see more tiny tomatoes and if only the female flowers on the pumpkins would open up I would soom be able to say that I might get one or two of those too :-)

Thunder just passed, no rain but lots of wind and the temperature plummeted down to really nice levels :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.
I've heard of bundling beds but I didn't know that Amish dolls have no facial features or that the sect originated in Switzerland. Fascinating!
TARYTERRE said…
Fascinating people, the Amish. Looks like you got some good things shopping there.
Leanne said…
Interesting folks the Amish - I'm attracted to the idealistic simple way of life
littlemancat said…
Interesting post - I live near Lancaster county in PA where many Amish and Old Order Mennonites live. Never heard of the bundling done around here,perhaps it's regional. I know that the Amish in Lancaster do not like their photographs taken without permission and usually not even with permission so was surprised to see your photos the other day.
A good book with reliable information is Donald Kraybill's Amish Grace. He's an academic at Elizabethtown College and a well known authority. It' s a really good read.
Mary
Barb said…
Such a fascinating post about the Amish!
Guillaume said…
Fascinating things I learned about the Amish. And it is time for blueberries!
brokenteepee said…
I can't wait for our corn!
It looks lovely...but after seeing the documentary on them...not all live by their strict rules. It's so nice to see them doing all the old things though. Beautiful pictures.