If you’re from Pennsylvania or anywhere in the Midwest, you’ve probably met an Amish. It’s not hard to recognize one. If you met one, you will probably notice how unique they are compared to regular Americans. This religious group is widely known to refuse modern-day culture. But no matter how much easy it is to spot an Amish, we know nothing about them. Their community prefers to live privately. So we’re here with a list of unbelievable facts you need to know about them. Most of them will blow your mind!
Unbelievable Facts About Amish Culture That You Need To Know
No Cars
We all know Amish refuse modern-day culture. That includes our latest technologies. Instead of using cars, they use horses and carriages to get around in town. Their religious belief prohibits them to take a car. But there’s an exception, Amish people can accept car rides. They are just not allowed to drive one.
No Cars
Manly Beards
If you come across older Amish men, you will notice their signature long beards with no mustache. For them, beards are highly encouraged. That’s because men in the Bible are described with beards. Unfortunately, mustaches are commonly avoided, if not directly prohibited because it wasn’t in the Bible.
Manly Beards
Believer’s Baptism
Every Amish youth that enters adulthood will have to undergo the traditional baptism to be a believer. It is a Christian tradition called Anabaptism, which meant “one who baptized again.” It originates from the Bible, where Jesus was first baptized in water by John.
Believer’s Baptism
Special Protocol
When it comes to their social life, they uphold rules that were written in Ordnung. These writings have rules about everything in their lives-from their clothing to technology and even education.
Special Protocol
Local Autonomy
No matter how strict they are with their way of life, they have no organized religious council or any type of administration. Each community can interpret and modify the rules in Ordnung however they please. That’s why every Amish community has a different set of rules and implementation.
Local Autonomy
Rumspringa
The adolescent stage of every youth is a time when everyone begins their exploration. They are not exempted from the curiosity of the flesh. Some kids even go outside their normal hangout areas and engage in activities that would raise eyebrows at home.
Rumspringa
Normal Marriages
This may surprise you but most Amish youths refuse arranged marriages. They prefer normal dating, just like the rest of us do. Unfortunately, many people outside the Amish community think they promote arranged marriages. They don’t.
Normal Marriages
Multiple Languages
Their education is outstanding. Amish kids learn not just one but three languages! From childhood, they are taught how to speak, read and write English, German, and Pennsylvania Dutch/German. It also helps that these languages are used within the community. If you’re planning on visiting one soon, you better learn a few words.
Multiple Languages
Wedding Season
A lot of Amish weddings occur during late November or early December. It’s preferred because it’s the Harvest season. Harvest season and communions occur in October, giving them a window of opportunity to marry from the conclusion of this time until the end of December. Not much time!
Wedding Season
Healthy
Despite all the strict rules and odd customs, they one rule that massively improved the health of everyone in their community. Research showed that the cancer rate within the community is 40% lower than the rest of the world. Do you want to know the secret? They don’t tolerate drinking alcohol and smoking. Given the great results, we may want to follow this great example!
Healthy
Fashion
Amish fashion upholds modesty that’s why their choice o wardrobe is very limited. First o all, they are prohibited to choose dresses with bright colors or crazy patterns. Instead, one must choose dull colors. You’d think you’re back in the 1700s.
Fashion
Origins
Amish families first came to America in 1963 after they escaped religious oppression from their origin. Ever since the 19th century, Pennsylvania was widely known as an open and accepting state when it comes to religion. It was a perfect area to settle.
Origins
Sleeping Together Before Marriage
You’d be highly shocked to learn this. Despite their modest and conservative culture, grooms and bride-to-be are encouraged to sleep on the same bed before they get married. Just one condition, they must be fully clothed and they should talk while laying in bed. The Amish people believed this will strengthen their bond before the wedding.
Sleeping Together Before Marriage
Tax Rule
Amish people are citizens of America, so they are still required by the federal and state government to pay their due tax. However, they are not required to pay for social security fees, because they are omitted from the benefits.
Tax Rule
The Largest Amish Population
Given that the founding family settled in Pennsylvania, it seems logical that this state would have the biggest Amish population, yet this does not appear to be the case. If you go a few hundred miles west of Pennsylvania, you’ll find a state that surpasses Pennsylvania by a few hundred, and that state is Ohio.
Short Education
Short Education
Amish children are often taught at private schools. A very fascinating and unusual fact about them is that they usually attend school until the eighth grade and then enter the workforce.
Short Education
Right To Vote
Amish are permitted to vote in US elections, although it is not generally popular among them. According to one survey, fewer than 15% of Amish voters cast votes. Despite this loss of popularity, a select few voters remain.
Right To Vote
Loyal Peacemakers
The Amish faith is very nonviolent, emphasizing forgiveness as the most essential virtue. They are not even military personnel and are vehemently opposed to the death sentence.
Loyal Peacemakers
Unique Toys
When young Amish children are little, they often get faceless dolls as a pleasant gift. The importance of having an expressionless doll is utilized to guarantee that youngsters do not acquire narcissistic tendencies.
Unique Toys
Acapella
They also oppose anything that might be seen as promoting one individual’s superiority over another. As with faceless dolls, they prohibit musical instruments to prevent narcissism.
Acapella
A Computer For The Amish
The Amish have their computer. The “Deskmate word processor” lacks internet connectivity and video/music features. It does, however, provide basic word processing, spreadsheets, and accounting functions. This instrument is not in conflict with Amish customs and is thus ideal for Amish communities.
A Computer For The Amish
Growing Population
In 1920, there were about 5,000 Amish in the United States. In 19845, the number increased to almost 84,000 and has already surpassed 300,000. This rise is mostly due to God’s desire for bigger families, as well as the fact that more people would assist with agricultural labor.
Growing Population
Strict Dress Codes
The most important guideline for Amish clothes is that they must remain simple. They often dress in drab colors and are discouraged from using buttons, zippers, or velcro. Rather than that, they typically utilize pins or hook-and-eye closures.
Strict Dress Codes
Isolated From The Community
The Amish youngsters face a tough choice after their Rumspringa trip. They must decide whether to remain in the church or leave it. This is a difficult choice since if they forsake it, they will be cut off from their family and community for the remainder of their life. This is why 90% remain faithful.
Isolated From The Community
Technology Exceptions
Although the majority of Amish villages have stringent restrictions around technology, some are more lenient than others. Tractors, mechanical refrigerators, baths with running water, and even propane gas are permitted in the Alona Amish hamlet. Certain localities go so far as to permit mobile phone use.
Technology Exceptions
No Rings
Among the many Amish customs is the prohibition of engagement and wedding rings. When a couple chooses to become engaged, no jewelry is permitted, and this also applies to the wedding ceremony. This is just one of a slew of peculiar Amish wedding customs.
No Rings
Secret Engagements
A frequent practice in Amish communities is to conceal engagements for many months from family and the community. Typically, couples get engaged in the spring but do not inform their families until the summer. The family then conceals this information until October, when the ritual begins.
Secret Engagements
No White Dress
On their wedding day, Amish women do not wear white but rather blue. The bride even creates her gown, as well as the outfits for her bridesmaids. Following this day, her wedding gown becomes her primary church gown and the garment in which she is buried.
No White Dress
Traditional Food
Celery is a traditional Amish wedding dish. It is a primary component in a wide variety of soups and other meals. It is also used in place of flowers as a decorative element. Typically, families begin growing celery well in advance of a wedding if they are planned one. Even before the announcement of the engagement!
Traditional Food
No Real Retirement Age
Amish communities often begin reducing their reliance on modern conveniences between the ages of 50 and 70. This, too, is conditional on their bodily state. They often relocate to a designated grandparent’s home on their family’s land. Elderly individuals in good health often continue to labor around the home, and the female members of the family take care of them when their health deteriorates.
No Real Retirement Age
Baptism
Amish are baptized into their church between the ages of 16 and 25. Before it, the individual is not permitted to marry. They may marry only another member of the same church. Not to add that it often occurs quickly. This is very unique in comparison to other types of Christianity. Because, for the most part, it is up to the parents to decide whether or not to baptize their child. However, in the Amish society, individuals make their own decisions about whether to be baptized into the church or to leave. They do not baptize minors since they are not of legal age to make their own decisions.
Baptism
Photographs Taken
While the Amish are not opposed to others taking photographs of them, they are not permitted to take photographs themselves. Additionally, they are not permitted to keep them in their houses. As with the dolls and clothes, the rationale is to keep them modest and prevent vanity.
Photographs Taken
A Frolic
The Amish describe the barn-raising as a frolic. When a new barn is required, they organize a whole celebration around it. Hundreds of people are expected to attend. Men do physical work, while women prepare meals. It is a highly popular sport.
A Frolic
Success Rate
If an Amish individual chooses to quit the Amish church, they would almost certainly lose touch with their family. This is because they will be ostracized and excommunicated. However, about 90% of Amish teenagers usually choose to remain in the church.
Success Rate
Dog Farming
While the Amish are often regarded as extremely pious, one segment of their community takes on a considerably darker tone. Due to increasing land costs and dwindling demand for small-scale agriculture, several Amish villages have taken to dog farming. Indeed, the Amish group controls about 20% of America’s puppy mills.
Dog Farming
High Inbreeding
While the Amish do not intentionally marry their relatives, their communities face a significant risk of inbreeding. Due to the tiny size of their communities in Amish country, they are limited in their options when it comes to marrying another Amish person.
High Inbreeding
No Recruits
Another fascinating aspect of the Amish is their rejection of proselytizing. They have a history of excluding themselves from contemporary life and rejecting non-members. As a result, it’s unsurprising that the Amish do not attempt recruitment. Even the most ardent supporters of the Amish are not eligible to join the church.
No Recruits
“English” Outsiders
To the Amish, your ethnic background, skin tone, and country of origin are irrelevant. They refer to anybody who is not Amish as an English person. This is mostly owing to centuries-old migratory patterns. This makes sense when you consider that the Amish have a reputation for never altering their traditions.
“English” Outsiders
Memories
As one would imagine, there are no Amish Instagram profiles. It’s fairly self-evident, given that they don’t utilize cameras. However, did you know that they also do not make paintings? It’s a little perplexing, given that a brush and canvas are hardly cutting-edge technology; what is the rationale behind it? To be sure, under Amish custom, when a loved one dies, they are left with only their memories to remember them by. Possessing a photograph or painting of someone is regarded to be possessing a graven image, which is prohibited.
Memories
No Dating
Unsurprisingly, the Amish marry exclusively members of their community since they need someone who will embrace their religion. Convincing someone to alter their lifestyle and habits in preparation for marriage is, to put it mildly, tough. However, dating is severely restricted in the Amish culture. You are not permitted to date anybody who has not been baptized into the Amish religion. You cannot even begin dating until you have been accepted into the community. Not to add that dating happens only in public places.
No Dating
Blessed Engagement
Each significant life event takes careful thought and includes the whole community in the Amish culture. Individuals cannot be engaged and married without the consent of others. When a couple begins dating, it is not uncommon for them to get engaged shortly afterward. When the guy proposes, he and his fiancée must get church permission. They are permitted to marry after they have been blessed by the church.
Blessed Engagement
The Honeymoon
How about spending your honeymoon at your parents’ house? To someone on the outside, it sounds pretty repulsive. However, Amish communities are strongly entrenched in tradition, and this is one of those customs. The bride’s parents’ home will serve as the starting point for the honeymoon. The next morning, as a gesture of gratitude, the bride and groom would clean their parents’ home.
The Honeymoon
The Honeymoon Continues
Amish honeymoons are comprised of many distinct components that take place in various locations. After spending the first night at the bride’s parents’ home, the couple will pack their belongings and go to the next residence, where they will see all of their relatives as husband and wife. If the married couple does not yet possess a home, they will reside with the bride’s parents until they can purchase one.
The Honeymoon Continues
Not Amish
Be cautious when judging someone who is wearing a bonnet; they may not even be Amish. Several are Mennonites. While the Amish and Mennonites are related, they are not the same. Indeed, they would be very upset if you mixed the two. Mennonites are a non-denominational Christian sect that is not as severe as the Amish. They live in highly developed neighborhoods and do not dwell in seclusion. Many of them also utilize technology and drive automobiles. At times, a Mennonite’s attire may be indistinguishable from that of a non-Mennonite.
Not Amish
Meidung
While the Amish adhere to many rules about their habits and lives, they are often unexpectedly liberal and enable people to reach their judgments. However, there is still a disciplinary mechanism in place for individuals who break their regulations. It’s essentially the Amish equivalent of a “time-out.” If someone is discovered to have violated their ethical code, there will undoubtedly be repercussions. Meidung is one of them, which means the individual is punished by being ostracized by society.
Meidung
Being Excommunicated
While Meidung refers to being ostracized by the Amish society, Bann is a far more severe penalty. If the offense is severe enough to result in permanent ex-communication, you enter the Bann and are regarded as an outsider. It depends on the nature of your ‘crime,’ but you might be ostracized for an indefinite period. Although it may seem harsh, the goal is for the individual to recognize their error and apologize.
Being Excommunicated
DNA Testing
Nowadays, due to advancements in technology, everyone wants to undergo DNA testing to learn more about their ancestors and perhaps reconnect with long-lost relatives. That is, everyone except the Amish, who are prohibited from doing so. That is why it is common for third cousins to marry in their culture. They believe that inbreeding happens by divine decree.
DNA Testing
Potlucks
This is a tradition worth preserving. The Amish are very generous. In their society, the idea of hosting and partaking in communal meals is very significant. It’s essentially one huge potluck, with everyone contributing something to the massive table. It occurs quite often and is the ideal opportunity to catch up with everyone.
Potlucks
No Church Buildings
One of the most fascinating aspects of traveling to religious communities across the globe is seeing their artwork and houses of worship, isn’t it? To be sure, visitors will not find any churches in Amish country. They are not drawn to ostentatious churches and cathedrals. They think they do not need a church or anything else elaborate since they believe the bible can be learned everywhere.
No Church Buildings