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About the Amish People
The Amish are a group of highly religious Christians originally from Germany, Switzerland and the Alsace region of France. They immigrated to the US in the 18th century. The Amish originally settled in Pennsylvania. Over time they migrated to many other states in the US and to parts of Canada.
Today more than half of the Amish live in 5 US states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan (as shown with the * on the map below).
Here's a list of the states and province where the Amish live, by order of greatest to lowest population:
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Wisconsin
Michigan
Missouri
New York
Kentucky
Iowa
Illinois
Ontario (Canada)
Minnesota
Tennessee
Delaware
Kansas
Maryland
Oklahoma
Montana
Virginia
Florida
North Carolina
Texas
Washington
West Virginia
Mississippi
This list is based on The Riddle of Amish Culture by Donald B. Kraybill. He bases his numbers on Raber's Almanac, an Amish almanac which lists information about Amish church districts by state. The figures Kraybill uses are guesstimates. He estimates there were about 180,000 Amish people living in North America as of 2001.
The Amish still speak the German dialect that many of their ancestors from Europe spoke. It's alternatively called Pennsylvania German, Pennsylvania Dutch or Deitsch. They also speak English.
The Amish believe in being separate from the society around them. They don't use electricity, automobiles or other modern conveniences. They have religious services every other Sunday. The alternate Sunday is for spending time with the community.
The Amish way of life largely revolves around working and socializing together as a family and community.
Here are some of Mama Lisa's recent posts about the music, culture and traditions of the Amish:
- In many parts of the world, the foods eaten on New Years Eve and New Years Day have important symbolic meanings. These symbols seem to fall into several major categories. The first class symbolizes financial prosperity. This type of food is round like coins. Often, the dish will be round beans, like lentils,... Read more »
- Previously, I wrote about how my family and I toured the Amish country in Pennsylvania. While there, I was lucky enough to be put in contact with a young Amish lady (she may have been in her late teens) who was willing to give me an Amish song for Mama Lisa’s World, my site... Read more »
Last month we brought our children to the Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Amish are a group of Christians originally from Germany, Switzerland and the Alsace region of France. They immigrated to the US in the 18th century. They believe in being separate from the society around them. Amish people... Read more »- By Monique Palomares May 1st : this day has been a protest day in France since 1889 as a tribute to the workers of Chicago who died during the riots in 1886. It was a day off dedicated to demonstrations (off, but unpaid). It’s been a (paid) public holiday since 1947. There are workers and trade... Read more »
