Originally published on our site travelermaster.com
Technology, it seems, is taking over every aspect of our lives, bit by bit.
Smartphones, computers, TVs and virtual reality headsets are everywhere, and it’s difficult to imagine what our lives would look like without them.
But in the center of the United States, some communities have been shunning modern technology for years, actively seeking a simpler lifestyle. This group of people has a lot of rumors – and stigmas – circulating about them, but their actual way of life remains relatively unknown.
What do you know about the Amish?
We’re willing to be that many of the facts here will leave you surprised – and even more curious.
Electricity
The Amish live by several basic tenets. Unlike the rest of America, the Amish shun individualism, and look at technology that takes away from hard, communal work and gives the individual time to ruminate on things outside of the community as a negative influence.
That’s the reason they rarely use electricity or drive cars – but don’t make the mistake of thinking they are merely trying to recreate a bygone time! Technology is vetted according to its perceived worth to the community, not on its advancement – and so, some Amish actually use modern tools for certain activities.
Facial Hair
The Amish are an old group, with very old traditions. They first came to America in the early 18th century, and many aspects of that period are preserved in their traditions, like in a sort of living time capsule. One of the most distinct – and instantly recognizable – of these traditions is the Amish beard.
Amish men wear a beard for all sorts of reasons – some rooted in religion, others in tradition – but they all shave their mustaches. The reason for that may surprise you: the Amish are pacifists, and when their movement was just starting out, mustaches were heavily linked with a “military” look, favored by officers and soldiers. To distinguish themselves from these military men, the Amish decided to shave their mustaches off – and while today, military men prefer a clean-shaven look, the tradition has stuck!
Outsiders
It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are, or what skin color you have, or where you’re from – if you’re an outsider, the Amish will refer to you as “English.”
When the Amish first came to America, everyone that approached them were English settlers – who, naturally, spoke English. The Amish couldn’t refer to them as Americans, because they were Americans as well, so they simply called them English.
While the Amish know English and speak it with “outsiders,” among themselves they speak Pennsylvania Dutch. Not to be confused with “Dutch” from the Netherlands, this is a simplified version of writing the German “deutch“.
The Amish’s Faceless Dolls
Amish dolls famously have no faces. This may appear creepy to the rest of the world, but these homemade toys are actually in line with the basic tenents of Amish life.
The Amish, you see, don’t want to encourage vanity or self-obsession – and a doll with a face is an individual, with distinct features which can make it prettier – or uglier – than other dolls.
With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why the Amish prefer to keep their dolls faceless – and there’s even a beauty to it.
School
Up until the 1950s, Amish children would go to public schools alongside non-Amish children, learning English, math and other basic subjects with them up until the 8th grade.
However, as technology progressed and the American way of life became less and less similar to the Amish way of living, Amish parents started to remove their kids from the public-school system, and teaching them themselves, at home or at Amish schools.
Today, it’s rare to see Amish children in public schools.
Rarely Sick
The Amish are legendary for their health. Despite shunning modern technology, and mostly keeping to their own 18th century medical practices, the Amish rarely get cancer or fall ill to serious sickness.
When you think of their lifestyle, though, this makes a lot of sense. Many Amish are quite physically active throughout the day, refrain from smoking or drinking alcohol, and go to sleep early – soon after sundown. Not only that, but they grow most of their own food in organic fields! With such a healthy lifestyle, it’s no wonder they are this healthy!
Remembering Loved Ones
The Amish shun most modern technologies – and that, of course, includes cameras. But in their striving to stay humble, centered and calm – driven by the rejection of what they call Hochmut, which translates into pride, arrogance or haughtiness and the high value they place on Demut – humility – and Gelassenheit – calmness, composure, placidity – they also don’t paint. So when a loved one passes away, they usually don’t have any way to remember them visually – other than, well, actual memory.
Music
Self-expression is not allowed among Amish because it could lead to pride. So, in addition to not be allowed to have iPods or to listen to the radio, they cannot make music either. They do, however, sing songs in church. Those songs come from a High German church songbook called Ausbunch – the oldest Protestant church hymnal – and because they don’t have musical notes, the ancient tunes are passed down from generation to generation via oral tradition.
Amish Music
The Amish believe in plainness and humility above almost all else, and so playing musical instruments in public isn’t looked kindly upon.
But this doesn’t mean the Amish lead lives bereft of song and music!
And while some Amish play instruments like the harmonica or accordion in the privacy of their homes, their real musical events take place during mass.
The Amish, being an extremely old religious group that has managed to preserve ancient customs, are, in fact, among the only groups in the world where ancient singing styles not found anywhere in Europe today can be heard!
Rumspringa
The Amish way of life is a very demanding lifestyle. In addition to that, the children raised in Amish communities are not oblivious to the world outside, and so young people, especially teens, can become very curious about the “English” lifestyle that takes place in the towns and cities around them.
Rather than forbidding that curiosity and making it a taboo, Amish tradition has a rite of passage called Rumspringa, which, translated from Pennsylvania Dutch, means “jumping/hopping around.”
When Amish teens reach the age of 16, rather than immediately being baptized and officially joining the congregation, they are encouraged to go on a Rumspringa and to explore and experience the world before they decide if they Amish lifestyle really is for them.
Explore the World
Rumspringa can last as long as the person likes. Some Amish teenagers return home within a week, while others decide to take advantage of their newfound freedom. They often travel across the United States and even abroad, experiment with technology, sexuality and whatever else they are curious about – even with things like drugs!
The Amish elders allow them to do this because they know it wouldn’t be fair for their kids not to see what they would be giving up by choosing to live in the Amish community – and it makes their decision to return to the community – if they do decide to return – that much more meaningful and proactive.
Most of Them Do Come Back
Despite the temptations of the modern world, it is interesting to note that most of the kids who leave Amish communities do eventually decide to come back and to be baptized as true members of the community. Because Rumspringa can take as long as a person needs, some “Rumspringers” decide to stay in the “outsider’s” world for many years – knowing they can return to the traditional community when they are ready, without being outcast.
Baptizing
Amish baptism is one of the most important ceremonies in the lives of the Amish community members. While some Christian sects baptize babies, the Amish see it as a serious vow that only a fully adult person can commit to.
Young adults are usually baptized only after several months of classes on the subject, and constant reminders that it is not an obligatory thing everybody has to go through, but rather a very serious choice.
It is better, the Amish believe, not to make the vow at all if you are not absolutely sure you can uphold it, than to make it and break it later. While people raised in the Amish community who have not been baptized can freely socialize with the community, those who have been baptized and then broken their vows are shunned from the community.
Shopping
In their attempt to veer away from what they consider “Worldly,” Amish people try to be self-reliant. They build their own homes and barns, grow their own vegetables and raise their own livestock – but they can’t do everything themselves. Occasionally, they might need something their community is incapable of producing itself, and that’s when they go shopping. For this reason, there is usually at least one dry goods store in most Amish towns, where people can buy supplies like candles and books.
The Role of Women
In the Amish community, it is implied that the women should be housewives. They are not allowed to be preachers or bishops, and are still treated as people who need a man in their life to take care of them.
Still, during baptisms, while a bishop baptizes boys, his wife will have the important role of baptizing the girls, and many Amish women also sell their quilts and other handmade items at stores – both to tourists and to other Amish communities.
No Arranged Marriages
There are no arranged marriages in the Amish community, meaning, they can choose to marry whoever they want. Still “no arranged marriages” doesn’t mean things are loose and free – the Amish community is still very strict and conservative.
Dating occurs in public areas only, and is very ritualized – and, course, Amish men can only propose to a baptized member of the Amish church – and can’t propose without getting permission from the elders and the church leaders, first.
Weddings
There are some things that have become so associated with wedding ceremonies, that without them, they can feel incomplete. But the Amish , who’ve been living in closed off communities for centuries, have their own customs.
Unlike other Christian wedding ceremonies, there is no exchange of rings, and the bride does not wear makeup. Rings, jewelry and makeup are considered signs of vanity, and so, the Amish choose to pass them over. Instead, the bride wears a simple blue dress, while the groom – the traditional black clothing worn every day.
Honeymoon, Amish Style
While the rest of us living in modernity choose to spend our honeymoons in exotic locations, kicking back, relaxing and taking it easy, the Amish have a different way to commemorate their newlywed status.
Traditionally, after the wedding, the fresh husband and wife come to stay the night at the bride’s parents’ house, helping with cleaning it and other daily tasks.
This is, traditionally, seen as a way to show gratitude to the parents for having raised them and supported them thus far.
The Rest of the Honeymoon
After their first night as husband and wife, the newlyweds leave the bride’s parents’ house and -go to stay with other relatives. The rest of the honeymoon is actually one long visit to relatives as newlyweds.
The Rest of the Honeymoon
After their first night as husband and wife, the newlyweds leave the bride’s parents’ house and -go to stay with other relatives. The rest of the honeymoon is actually one long visit to relatives as newlyweds.
When the honeymoon is finally over, the new husband and wife usually live in her parents’ house, until they build their own home – usually with the family’s assistance.
Strong Community Bond
The Amish put the needs of their community far above their personal needs as individuals. They see this as a way of being humble, and in keeping with their Gelassenheit values. That means that if a member of the community is in need, the whole community will come together to help out.
This is often seen through their barn raising efforts – the Amish are legendary for raising barns seemingly overnight, working by hand and without the use of power tools. This is made possible thanks to massive community efforts.
Three Languages
The Amish movement originated in Switzerland. After suffering persecution in Europe, however, many Amish travelled to the more religiously permissive America, where they formed their close-knit communities in the early 18th century.
And so, while the Amish are American through and through, and speak English fluently, their day to day language is a unique form of German called Pennsylvania Dutch. In addition to Pennsylvania Dutch, which is spoken when conduction regular affairs like shopping and chatting, and English, which is used to communicate with outsiders, the Amish give sermons in classic German – which is the language their bibles are written in. So all in all, despite their reclusiveness, your average Amish person grows up speaking three languages!
The Order of Things
There are two sets of rules by which the Amish live by. The first is laid down in the Bible, as they are for any Christian community – but the second is more elusive.
The Amish have a concept which the call “Ordnung“. Loosely translated, it means “order,” “arrangement,” “organization,” or “system.” While it is unwritten, Ordnung is, essentially, what defines the very essence of Amish identity.
It dictates the lifestyle the Amish have chosen, and many of the practices we associate with the Amish today are a direct result of the *Ordnung.”
Breaking the Rules
The Ordnung dictates what can and can’t be done within an Amish community – but with rules must also come punishment and disciplinary action.
Because Amish life is so focused on community, one of the most severe punishments you can receive for transgressing the Ordnung is called “Meidung“. Loosely translated, it means “time-out,” and what it means is to be shunned by the community. A Meidung may last a few days, weeks or even months, and its purpose it to both protect the community, as well as to remind the person being disciplined why that community is so important.
Clothing
A big part of Ordnung is also what Amish people are permitted to wear.
Much like a uniform, members of Amish communities have a strict set of regulations detailing what kind of clothes are permittable. Due to their philosophy, which shuns vanity and prizes equality, clothes are very homogenous. Men wear simple white shirts and black pants, while women wear similar dresses. Jewelry, makeup,and accessories, naturally, have no place in the dress code.
Technology
Amish communities know that technology exists of course. One girl on TikTok explains that she sells things online and owns a phone.
She explains that her community knows that she has a phone but are under the impression she only uses it for emergencies—she works far away and needs to be able to contact someone since the nearest hospital is seven hours away! However, they are unaware of social media platforms, especially TikTok.
Health Issues
Thanks to their lifestyle, the Amish are astonishingly healthy. Cancer, asthma and other diseases are much, much lower amongst the Amish population in comparison to their presence in the general population – but that’s not to say the Amish don’t have unique health issues of their own.
Due to the closed off nature of their communities, inbreeding is not entirely uncommon.
That means that often, due to lack of other potential partners, cousins or second cousins marry – a practice which can give rise to genetic diseases. Dwarfism, Angelman syndrome, and various metabolic disorders are far more common among the Amish than in other populations.
DNA Testing
Due to the unique nature of their closed off communities, many Amish families have undergone extensive DNA testing, both in order to help geneticists’ study genetic drift, as well as in hopes of better mapping family ties and gaining a better understanding of the dangers specific couples might face.
Surprisingly, this new science has been widely accepted by the Amish, despite their technological misgivings.
Sharing is Caring
Communal meals are very important in the Amish community. On the days of those meals, everyone brings something to the table and the whole community has a meal together. Sharing is really important in the Amish community, and since music and art are mostly frowned upon, food is an important way through which people can express themselves and entertain each other.
Amish Church
While the Amish are highly devout, and shape their entire lives around religion, their churches are, in fact, quite simple.
