  michaelmas , the feast of saint michael the archangel (also the feast of saints michael, gabriel, uriel and raphael, the feast of the archangels, or the feast of saint michael and all angels), is a day in the western christian liturgical year that occurs on 29 september. because it falls near the equinox, it is associated in the northern hemisphere with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. in medieval england, michaelmas marked the ending and beginning of the husbandman's year, george c. homans observes: "at that time harvest was over, and the bailiff or reeve of the manor would be making out the accounts for the year."george c. homans, english villagers of the thirteenth century, 2nd ed. 1991:354. in christianity, the archangel michael is the greatest of all the archangels and is honored for defeating lucifer in the war in heaven. he is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. michaelmas has also delineated time and seasons for secular purposes as well, particularly in britain and ireland as one of the quarter days. the eastern orthodox churches do not observe michaelmas, except the serbian orthodox church.http://www.crkvenikalendar.com/slave/1210.php the greek orthodox honor the archangels on 8 november instead. ==history== during the middle ages, michaelmas was celebrated as a holy day of obligation, but this tradition was abolished in the 18th century. lutheran christians consider it a principal feast of christ, and the lutheran confessor, philip melanchthon, wrote a hymn for the day that is still sung in lutheran churches: "lord god to thee we give". it was also one of the [[england|engl
Michael_(archangel) Public_holidays_in_the_United_Kingdom Quarter_days Saints_days September_observances