The Quakers

411 Words1 Page

The Quakers The Quakers are VERY simplistic! They have strict rules on certain everyday routines. They don't use electricity or any machinery. So washing machines are out of the question and so are dryers. Although this doesn't count for all Quakers this only counts for the strict and devote. All through the l8th and the l9th century, it was easy to identify a Quaker by certain "peculiar" habits. Most noticeable would have been "hat-honour" (i.e. not removing the hat when in the presence of a "superior"), plain dress and plain speech. "Hat-honour" disappeared fairly early, as the removal of one's hat gradually became recognised more as a matter of courtesy than of deference. The rigid adherence in the l8th century to a particular form of "plain dress" (e.g. no lapels or buttons) did not survive the l9th. Only the "plain speech", noticeably the use of 'thee' and 'thou' and of numbers for the days of the week and for the months continued into the present century. The use of 'thee/thou' was not unusual during the first half of this century among Friends who had been brought up in Friend families (then termed "birthright Friends") but was little used in public. The use of day and month numbers became largely confined to formal Minutes and announcements. The idea of 'birthright friends' or 'friend families' is quite an unusual thing for you and me, but basically these terms mean that family members such as cousins, brothers and sisters are legally aloud to engage in sexual contact, and form close net families. This still happens in some Quaker communities today. Although its not rarely mentioned because in some communities its frowned upon. Over the holidays I went to Florida and where as Florida is such a big state I noticed that a lot of the citizens there were Quakers. Like I said they are very easily recognised by their plain dress but yet another feature caught my eye. The men and boys in this family all had the same auburn coloured hair, which was very scraggy and untidy.

Open Document