I'm actually friends with three amish girls! Unfortunately I only get to talk to them when I visit them in Lancaster but, they're so sweet and so is their family. I have fond memories riding around in their horse and wagon (not a buggy as we were all around 9-11 ish) and electric-less sleepovers!
I'm German and hearing them speak is so interesting and strange! I can definitely understand 85% of it, but it sounds off to me and I can't place the accent at all (because it doesn't exist in any german speaking area in europe nowadays!) Pretty cool haha
@@willow2447 Same here. I bought my first house recently and the new furniture I bought is so poorly made, meanwhile my mom and grandparents have decades-old furniture that is still good as new. I think quality has gone down lately because of mass manufacturing so I'd like to buy furniture from somewhere more old-fashioned someday.
Bear in mind, there are different types of Amish communities that have differences in belief from one another. The Amish (also Hutterites), are a conservative sub-grouping of the Mennonite community & there are Amish sub-groups that are even more conservative than other Amish. "Rumspringa," for example, isn't a universal Amish or Anabaptist tradition - it's only practiced by one segment of the Amish in America. There are Amish people who will fly in airplanes or travel in cars driven by non-Amish & there are others who will not travel in any motor vehicle.
yeah the popular concept of Rumspringa is exaggerated. Its more of the belief that children can't decide to officially join the church until they are adults, and until they officially join the church they can break the rules without too much consequences. Some go further with their rebellious phase than others, but many I know went to parties or had tv's or phones hidden in their barn lofts.
Exactly. There are a lot of things a more liberal Old Order district will tolerate than the Schwartzentruber, Troyer, Bayler, etc. will. It’s not one size fits all. (Edited because spell check changed those three names into some amusing alternatives).
YES. i just made a post trying my best to explain this because i’ve learned about it but i don’t think i didn’t a very good job. i think you did a great job explaining this! i personally think videos like the one shown in this video only show what society generally thinks of the amish but i think the whole like “world”of amish needs to be shown. i personally think the amish are actually very interesting and i love to learn about it:)
We look at rumspringa as an excuse to party and do things you normally can't do. In my area it's mainly new order which does it till you get married which is when you join the church.
It's interesting to realize that people other places in the world don't know about the Amish. They're known for their good craftsmanship. My grandma would always say "get you something amish made" if you needed new furniture or something.
Only somebody from the States could make such a comment. Why should the rest of the world know about the Amish? Do you know anything about the Mapuches, the Aimaras, the Quechuas? The Amish only exist in the States and the States are not the entire world. Only people from the States think that the rest of the world knows about what goes on in the States whereas the rest of the world couldn't care less about your country.
@@andromedamessier3176 You are right. I read my comment again and it sounded pretty spiteful. I guess I just had one of those "internet rage" moments. So sorry!
Love the video content. I saw other comments mentioning the likely high rates of abuse and neglect in Amish/similarly isolated religions/cults, and I would also like to mention there's been several instances of large-scale puppy mills being run by Amish families and communities that led to arrests in the last decade in Pennsylvania. Definitely a more complex community and topic than this video may present.
Also, I assume being a woman and Amish isn't so great either. I have a lot of Amish near where I live and the women seem so oppressed and the men seem so controlling. The other day this Amish family were at the grocery store and the husband was pushing the cart with his wife trailing behind. The wind blew and a bunch of their toiletries went flying down the road. He simply looked behind him as his items were rolling around the parking lot and just kept walking, knowing full well that his wife will chase after them for him. There's a lot of shitty men in all communities so I'm not trying to profile anyone, but it's the general attitude I've felt within the Amish community around here.
@@florencelove1895 I don’t know. Amish women are housewives but women also run business too. Their baking is so good. It make me feel like most of the time they control the money. But this is generalization, of course. Just like outside, there are case of abuse still.
@@DeliberateContrarian thats not what the amish did. the amish simply did nothing. they predate modern technology. when they created their towns they were exactly the same as the rest of the country.
The sad thing is that if an Amish teen decides to live in the modern world, they are completely cut off from their entire community. Their own family and friends will act as if they no longer exist- they won’t talk to them or even look them in the eye ever again.
Yes, is sad. And I think this keeps them for getting nice things....maybe their lifestyle is not that bad as it is simple but I think you can do your religion and advance in society
My cousin fell in love with an Amish fellow and he left his family to be with her. They invited them to the wedding but knew they weren't going to show because doing so they would have been shunned from the community. Well surprise, surprise! They actually came :). They're no longer Amish now, but I believe they are Mennonites
@@southernsunb that's right, if one of the incentives for staying in a community is the thrreat of excommunication and isolation, then it's not a safe place to be in.
There's definitely a darker side to Amish faith, thats not usually talked about. But its on the more benign sides as far as cults go. They are generally pacifists so will let you leave if you want. The general premise is that its better to not join the church as an adult than it is to join it and abandon it later. So shunning is a 'peaceful' way to deal with someone who betrayed/abandoned them. But anyone can tell you there is emotional and psychological harm done from shunning, but at least they weren't hanging people like the early Puritans did, or burning at the stake like the Catholics. Many shunned Amish end up becoming Mennonites, which is a less strict form that Amish originally diverged from (this is what my grandmother did), but Amish will accept those back that repent. There have been cases where Amish have left and come back several times.
The second group shown seemed more Mennonite than Amish to me! It looked like they were using battery powered lanterns and the head coverings the women wore didn't completely obscure their hair. I live in Missouri just a few miles away from a group of Mennonites although they're a bit more relaxed with the technology than even those shown in the clips. My younger sister used to work with them at a restaurant and she commented it was always weird to see one of the girls in her Mennonite attire on break texting on a smart phone. They're lovely people, so kind and absolutely fantastic bakers and craftsmen, at least the ones near us.
Yeah, there is a lot of difference in rules from community to community. Growing up the amish here still primarily used Kerosene lanterns inside, but I think they are starting to make more allowances these days for battery powered lamps. Its just a little more convenient and safe to use Battery instead of Kerosene. And they wiggle the rules a little to say that its okay because their house isnt wired to the worldly electrical grid, and Solar power from the sun is for everyone to use, etc.
I live on the East Coast and when we go to the beach, we sometimes go down to the boardwalk. So, it's people in bathing suits, people with tattoos, people engaging in PDA and. . .Mennonites. Yes, they are there like everyone else, eating the french fries and people watching. And it's totally cool.
There are Amish communities all over the U.S. when I was a trucker I picked up from Amish businesses all over, lumber from Pennsylvania, Ohio, & Michigan, pallets from Iowa,my home state of Indiana has a huge Amish population including an area where the Amish cater to tourists (nappanee, shipshawana)
There is a branch of the Amish called Mennonites. They still have the same beliefs and dress in plain clothes but they do use modern things like cars and cell phones. A lot of them work in the stores in Lancaster. Near here there is a home for old people where my grandmother lived that is run by Mennonites. They're really nice people.
They mentioned Rumspringa but did talk about what happens if they don't return home. I believe they are shunned so they have never return and lose all contact with their old friends and family. So staying out is a really big decision.
99% of the shows or videos you see of the Amish community are the most modern of the different groups. There are white toppers, yellow toppers, black toppers, and Mennonite. Each group uses a different color for the top of their buggies, but Mennonites drive cars. I live in Central Pennsylvania where we have all of the groups together in one county. I wish more people did documentaries here instead in the tourist trap that is Lancaster...
I just assumed those shows were completely fabricated and scripted. I mean, I know rumspringa is real, but I just figured the wild behavior and the mafia part was made up.
@@amycortez3289 some Amish kids definitely drink and smoke heavily during Rumspringa. They can get pretty wild on a Saturday night 😆 I have never heard of the Amish Mafia until that TV show came out, and I have lived my whole 31 years of life in real Amish country. So my guess is that that show was for sure scripted and fake 🤷🏻♀️
While it is easy to get caught up in the idyllic Ness that they present unfortunately there is a lot of abuse in the Amish community and because they don’t go to outsiders it stays within the community. That plus a few other issues qualifies it as a cult and though I see it as much less harmful as other cults I still would not want to be stuck in that way of life
Yes, I wish people weren't so afraid to admit they are a cult, or at the very least, acknowledge the abusive aspects to their lifestyle. I would say they are comparable to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. If people are okay with calling out their abusive cult practices, why can't the hold the Amish/Anabaptist groups to the same standards? The excuse I often hear is "they keep to themselves" which just means they get away with so much. Hell, I'd argue they are even more controlling than the other two, and can be just as harmful as other cults because of how insular they are. At least Mormons live in modern society, so we can better keep an eye on them.
@@TomorrowWeLive ah, a TERF troll who knows absolutely nothing about the process of transitioning who is spewing horrible hate towards the most wonderful of people. Trans People are valid and LOVED. By me and so many others #transrightsarehumanrights 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️💪
Little fun facts about the Amish: 1.) Their clothing has to be modist, this includes neutral colors, fabric, and modesty. They do this to live as simply as possible as they believe it is a sin to be color or vibrant, and in showing skin. 2.) Their hairstyles are all the same for the same reasons the clothing, modesty and to create a sense of community, the women have to wear bonnets at it is believed that only a husband is able to see his wife's hair loose and uncovered. 3.) In most Amish communities they do not believe in going to the dentist or seeking medical help due to the advanced technologies hospitals and doctors have today, they also believe it goes against God's plan. 4.) Most kids stop going to school after elementary, it is believed that at this age children should be helping t home and the community 5.) They get engaged to marry very young around 16-17 6.) At 18, young Amish are allowed to venture out of their community and experience life, this is to give them the option if they want to stay in the community for life or leave. They only have this one chance, and if a child decides to leave unfortunately they will be shunned by their own family and cimmunity.
Facts 3-6 are definitely not practiced everywhere. I grew up in an area with a very conservative group of Amish and only facts 1and 2 are accurate about them. They go to school until 8th grade( that’s the end of middle school), go to the doctor and dentist when needed, but not as much as an English person would. They are also encouraged to wait and marry after 18, preferably in the early 20s. This group didn’t practice Rumspringa either (I know it is practiced elsewhere).
Yeah, there is a small town dentist and doctor they go to here with no problem. Though they are one of the few groups exempted from things like insurance and social security. Their belief is that their community will raise funds for those that need it. Here they also went to Middle School 8th grade with us and then quit.
@@rachelsmith6900 Oh interesting! I wonder why the Amish community here in Oregon they do what I have listed. Almost all of the majority of my Amish friends why have left) have told me that they didn't go to middle school I believe only 2 did, and around 4 of them were already married when they left at 19. What's interesting also is that they all told me that in their particular community they didn't even have a small-town doctor because the community was concerned about influencing the community about the outside, unless it was an extreme emergency they did their best with homeopathic remedies. But that's what I find very interesting about the Amish community, each community in itself throughout the US is different! I myself left the Mormon community in Utah around 10 years ago
OMG I used to live in Pennsylvania, I used to buy their baked goods and OMG its soooo good haha! Also one interesting fact Amish communities helped slaves to escape by hiding them in their farms! They took a big part in the underground roads
Have you seen the tv show "Breaking Amish"? It's interesting and sometimes a bit different. The Amish leaders are only men. Women are seen as....having kids, keeping the house ,cooking and doing what your husband says. They make their outfits, but do not use buttons, and many do not choose their own spouse. They also work hard and the wood work is amazing. It is interesting, but also in our 2021 world, we could considerate many things cruel. Thanks for sharing the video🦋
Most of that programme was staged. Also, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Judaism, Islam, and a number of other world religions only have male leaders. I’m not saying I agree, just pointing out it’s not exclusive to only small, conservative groups. Secondly, the Amish choose their own spouses. There aren’t arranged marriages in the Anabaptist tradition (there is in a number of far larger world religions though). They don’t believe in divorce, however, so you can get ‘stuck’ in a marriage if it doesn’t work out. They can separate but not divorce. BTW, as a third note, I can afford to buy but I make a lot of my own clothing too. I’ve received more compliments on some of my self-made clothes than on some incredibly expensive items I have. I hate the buttonhole thing on my sewing machine and zippers annoy me, so I often use snaps or hooks and eyes on items that need closure points. Granted I do this voluntarily, but it’s not really a huge hardship in life.
I lived in Upstate New York (like 35 minutes from the Canadian border ) theres a lot of Amish there .. we had horse carriage parking spots at Walmart lolol They would sell stuff at the local farmers market.. they made some BOMB 💣 baked goods
Growing up in Lancaster County, and also having some of my family that was Mennonite, it's definitely an interesting way of living. When I was younger I thought it would be so cool to live like them. But now I see how controlling they truly are. Everyone sees them as living a simple life, which is fair. But the church literally has control over what they wear, who they are allowed to communicate with, not to mention how misogynistic it is!
so interesting to hear your perspective from Lancaster. I live in Ohio in a community with a large number of Amish and I feel like animal abuse is a huge problem. but I guess the definition of what is animal abuse has to do with perspective. I'm a firm person who expects my 1000lb animals to mind their manners and won't tolerate bad behavior from them so I don't think it's that I'm just a softy. my mom had a horse ruined by an ex-Amish trainer. We'll never know exactly what he did to her but she was cowering in her stall shaking and it took months to rebuild her trust. and the poor girl never trust anyone but my mom ever again. she was nasty to every human in existence after that. anyway my question was do you see this sort of thing as a problem in Lancaster? I know they've had puppy mill shutdowns out there. that's big business here too for the Amish
@@laceyl5682 Hello, nice to hear from you! I hear a lot about puppy Mills in Lancaster, and how poorly they treat their animals. I haven't heard of any horses being trained like that, that sounds so awful! :/ The Amish seemed to be praised for living a simple life with no technology, but regular people only see the surface. It is a pretty toxic and misogynistic community!
You don't know what toxic or misogynistic even is. You could call it "sexist" but there is literally nothing misogynistic. If you wanna talk about "toxic", I'll just laugh. The most toxic people I've ever met in life were on college campuses. All the amish/Mennonite I've met or seen keep to themselves and are people of few and honest words. From the looks of your post, you're more toxic than any Amish.
@@bud389 Your insults aren't welcome. Whatever term you use--misogynistic or sexist, it's definitely women as second class. They're not allowed to go to school past the 8th grade--sort of limits their life choices. On one hand, the religion outlines definite roles for men and women, and everyone follows those rules. But considering the traditional woman's roles are subservient to men...not sure it's fair. If it's like other traditional Christian faiths, men make the rules in the church, and women follow them. It means men rule over the women.
For most of them, they live a farm life. It's common to wake up that early, earlier if your the one to cook. Around 5am or so you get up eat breakfast then out the door doing chores. Animals need feeding, cows milking, eggs gathered. If you have lots of animals taking care of them can take a long time. Then there's working in the fields most of the day caring for the crops, weeding and watering, planting and harvest. In between or later in day there's hundreds of chores and things that need doing, then in evening time to take care of the animals again. It's a busy life but a nice life.
When you don't have electricity you go to bed a lot earlier. In the winter it can get dark around 6:30pm, in the summer 8 or 9. So it makes more sense to get up earlier too, Many have farms for basic sustenance, but still have jobs in factories etc. So they have to get up to eat, and feed the livestock before leaving for work.
Growing up in wisconsin USA it has a fairly large Amish population. I actually helped a boy I met on his rumspinger leave his Amish family because he chose to join the modern Lifestyle. Gave him a place to live and got him a modern job and license. Kurt now has a family of his own and house and is still a regular at any parties at my house.
my grandfather grew up in a chasidic community in new york city in the 40s and 50s (chasidism being a sect of orthodox judaism)- so, obviously there’s a theological difference there, from the amish, but a lot of the practices are the same with regard to modest, traditional dress, kids being discouraged from going to secular schools, electricity-usage, being an insular community with its own language (russian yiddish), and from what i understand of his childhood, marginalization even within the larger jewish community. fascinating to see the comparison here, personally
I’m Jewish but have some Amish heritage from a grandparent. Sometimes I wear an Amish made dress because it’s tznius. I have always been fascinated by how the two groups, while obviously radically different theologically, have many similar “rules” about conduct, dress, etc.
Many Hassids don't like us mainstream Jews and have very strict gender roles. My family is split between Israeli Orthodox all the way to non practicing.
@@katherinetepper-marsden38 I’m MO so I understand. Fortunately my Hasidic friends are Lubavitch, so they’re on the more open side. Plus, if you’re ever short on a menorah, candles, a kosher mezuzah, rent a sukkah, whatever, they will set you up joyously. And then send you a calendar every year for the rest of your life. 😉
This is awesome. This is where I'm from (Lancaster, PA) and it is so interesting to see people from other parts of the world learning about it! I am no Amish, but my German ancestors also came to America alongside the Amish (my ancestors were Lutheran) and they also spoke Pennsylvania Dutch. Some of the words are still used today and I'm proud of my heritage!! (I'm also partly Italian - My grandfather was born in Italy)
My dad lived in lancaster for a decent part of my elementary/middle school years & we actually lived next to a Mennonite woman & her mom! Mennonites are similar to the Amish in how they look, but they can use electricity, drive vehicles, etc. She would always make me & my sister pies & even made us wooden pencil boxes 🥺. She was an amazing wood carver & even sold some of her creations at the Amish markets tourists would go to. My dad moved out of lancaster years ago, but sometimes I wonder how she's doing :)
Also, I know you were joking, but the Amish do have fridge and freezers! They’re just called ice boxes. There is a TikTok somewhere around here. They harvest ice in the winter that lasts all summer and they keep it in one side of a very thick walled and well insulated shed type building. On the other side is their “fridge”.
To think we do “the Amish thing” as entertainment in our culture by going camping and doing things like that to disconnect. I’ve always enjoyed reading and learning about their lifestyle. I can’t say I agree with everything they do and believe but I do think there’s something to be said for the way they choose to live.
Really interesting video, love you guys! I've grown up in New Jersey (so next to PA) and we always love to go to markets where they sell Amish bread. Their baking is 😍. Unfortuantely, the Amish are known to run puppy mills - it's one of the biggest, if not the largest, concentration of puppy mills in the USA. Really, really horrible conditions and a lot of people work to rescue dogs from that life :(. Of course, this isn't all of them!
Hearing the Pennsylvania Deutch was so weird and interesting for me bc I speak German but hearing that dialect was like hearing an English speaker speak broken German (or maybe someone speaking German w/ an English accent) 😂😂 my brain was like are they speaking English or German?? (I also live in Pennsylvania too but I live in the suburbs outside of Philadelaphia so I only see Amish ppl if I have to go to Lancaster for whatever reason 😂)
The Amish way of life seems like it would be amazing to have, maybe 5 days a week but I don't think I could live entirely without technology. Its too ingrained in me at 36 years old to just never have it again, as much as I love the idea of an idyllic lifestyle.
My family always thought I was so strange for how much I loved when the power in our house got knocked out by the hurricanes for days on end. I didn’t understand why they would sleep in the car or how it was frustrating to them instead of peaceful. To me, it felt so right with the lanterns and the candles and the pure (or eerie, depending on who you asked) quiet without the hum of electricity that no one else seemed to hear. They always laughed when I told them it felt like a vacation. It still does. Sometimes when I’m able to (which isn’t very often), I unplug and turn off all the electronics that I can in my house and if I need to see at night, I move by candlelight. Maybe it’s silly to complain, but I feel like we strive too much toward convenience and tend to leave substance behind. So many of us are at everyone’s beck and call because everyone expects you to have a cell phone in your pocket and they feel entitled to reach you at any time, feeding into our growing addiction of instant gratification, which leads to a vicious cycle. You can’t not have one because it’s expected of you, and it’s expected of you because everyone has one. And yet I’m typing all this on my smartphone (that I once got rid of because I get addicted to it, but was gifted a new one from my family, lol I couldn’t escape[I know, boohoo, first world problems]) and I just bought a tablet for my work (lots of sheet music= one download or lots of paper). I’m not any better, it’s just what I recognize. Obviously there are positives, especially when it comes to accessibility. I don’t know, I guess I just wish it didn’t come at the cost of our calm.
I live in tennessee and we have several Amish, Mennonite family's here.. I remember growing up I had no clue we had Amish here.. has the years pass we see more and more of them. They have some of the best shops around and are known for there building skills. They park there horse and buggy underneath a tree at the Walmart here, walmart made them post for there horses.
I live in Ontario Canada in a town with horse and buggies constantly on our roads because we have many Mennonites in our area (they are very similar to the Amish but have some differences in their religion). In my area, parking lots sometimes have covered areas reserved specifically for when they park their horse and carriage and go into stores. It’s fascinating to be so close to a community that lives so differently, and to see and interact with them regularly but know we will always be so separate.
The amish follow a pretty decentralized religion. Meaning communities have their own Bishops and decide their own rules, so some will be very strict, while others might be pretty relaxed with their rules. Some only allow specific colors of clothes, others don't care so much. One of the house they showed had shutters on the windows, which isnt accepted by the Amish here in northern Indiana. The general concept of their beliefs is to set themselves apart from the materialistic world, and to avoid vanities. But many of the things that made sense a hundred years ago don't make as much sense now, but its still accepted by tradition. For example Amish generally do not wear buttons, because in the 1800s fancy decorative buttons were a huge fashion symbol. They don't drive cars and use motorized equipment because cars were originally luxury items. But as time goes on they work in little loop-holes in the rules, while still trying to keep traditions. Like owning a business, and the business has electricity or equipment, but they personally don't.
I love going to the Amish country in my state, they have really good dutch food and food In general. Also, Fun fact, the Amish in Indiana have a genetic code in their body that is called “the fountain of youth”
Oh my, this is a flash back. ROFL 😂.I live in the province of British Columbia Canada. I attended a family reunion as a teenager in the neighboring province of Alberta. My family town there has a large population of Menonites. They have their differences from the Amish, but from a modern perspective, a very similar lifestyle and belief structure. I met a great uncle at the reunion for the first time. He was a man who liked his alcohol and cruel pranks. I was respectful/terrified of him and accepted everything he said as gospel. Well into his whiskey, he confided to me that Menonite girls were desperate to find a husband and I'd do well to try my city boy pick up moves on one of them. He was full of crap! If you want to learn what you need to do to find yourself running for life from a Menonite father, you only need to listen to my great uncle. ROFL 😂
I live in western PA which has a big population of Amish also. They are some of the hardest working people you'd ever meet. Their woodworking and handmade quilts and arts are second to none. The ones I've met have been very sweet and kind. There are buggy hitching posts at our grocery stores. 😊❤
My parents live out in Amish Country in Lancaster County! You get used to driving around the buggies, and smell of horses. They've met a lot of Amish people and learned a lot about their lifestyle. They also get to buy a lot of fresh dairy, eggs, cider, etc. They love it out there!
While growing up my family spent a lot of time camping in Lancaster, Pennsylvania which is a big Amish community we did it every other weekend for about 8 years so I saw them a lot.
Guy at the beginning: "I can't show their faces to respect their culture and privacy." What we see next: Full view of an entire family's life, featuring their happy (and sleepy) faces.
I grew up in Berks County- neighboring Lancaster. It was cool to have such a different, old-fashioned culture right there within our own modern society. Getting stuck behind a horse and buggy could get frustrating when in a rush, but otherwise it was beautiful. Besides the Amish, there were Mennonites and just the regular ol' Pennsylvania Dutch people. I used to love encountering the older folks who still spoke the language. I miss the beautiful roadside produce stands, amazing baked goods (shoo-fly pie!), and other PA Dutch foods- omg and Shady Maple Smorgasbord! 🤤 I've lived in Las Vegas for the last decade. This video made me miss home a bit.
i live near a few amish communities, its always so fun to see them coming down the road in a horse and buggy! there's an amish market near my house too that has the tastiest food :)
A few years ago I was at the airport, there was an Amish family there and when they saw the moving walkways a couple of them got so excited that they dropped their suitcases to run over and get onto it, it was hilarious.
They don’t bother anyone and just want to live their life. As far as I know they have high moral standards. As long as they choose this lifestyle and don’t harm anyone leave them be.
It makes sense that they go to bed/get up that early. Even aside from getting up early to farm. Same with the 8.5 kid average. Think about it, it gets dark, there's probably not much to read other than a Bible (which they probably know cover to cover) There's also no television for entertainment. So ma & pa slide off together and work on baby 9.5 and fall asleep immediately after 😆 Just a guess!%g
I grew up in Pennsylvania and there was an Amish owned spice shop downtown in my small hometown. My brother worked at a bar when he was in college with a guy who was on the show breaking Amish. Crazy to me that so many people aren’t familiar with the Amish because it was so normal for me growing up.
I work in central Illinois and one of the areas I visit has a large Amish community. They are very private. I often slow down to pass their horse drawn carriages as not to startle the horses. Everyone respects that. They are also well know for having the best furniture and produce for sale.
my family was amish a few generations back! my grandad speaks pennsylvania dutch and gave me a few dvds on how to speak it, too. it’s such a fascinating language!
Zoey: today we're going to learn about the amish me, coming from a Mennonite/Amish blood line: finally, something I have a bit of knowledge about Actually, my grandmother was Mennonite(I even went to a Mennonite church for preschool), and the part of PA that I'm from has a lot more Mennonites than Amish(2 hours west from Lancaster), but I would like to add that Amish people can ride in cars and everything, they just can't drive them. My mom and her friend used to drive some of the local Amish ladies around to get their shopping done, and everything. I also want to point out that there is a show on TLC called "Breaking Amish" that deals with Amish kids that come of age deciding if they want to break free from the church or stay with it, I haven't really watched it, but my mom watches it and that's how I know it exists.
I love seeing videos of people reacting to amish, my family was amish and I grew up in a amish community. I even speak some Pennsylvanian dutch as well.
If I weren't glued to my pc for nearly every waking moment this life would sound amazing. Waking up before 5am and going to sleep at sundown are things you can get used to. And while they might not have icecream stored in freezers, I dare to bet there's some local tasty snacks just waiting to be tried. On the whole it looks quite peaceful, far more family oriented than anything you'll see out in the modern world, and there seems to be less pressure on people. Those things sound quite amazing. If only there was internet. Oh well, can't have everything.
Imagine if the ONLY piece of tech they were allowed to have was a smartphone, and the only acceptable use of that technology was making TikTok videos to educate the outside world about Amish life 😆
I have to think they have some kinds of refrigeration that they use. I think the people in the family segment had a fridge actually. And if not freezers, they could use ice boxes. I'll have to do some Googling.. :) It's really interesting.
Careful driving through these communities! I’m in Ohio and have to sometimes, and it’s scary to be on a country road with a 50mph speed limit, and go over a hill and then there’s a horse carriage right in front of you that you couldn’t see, or they’re walking in the plain black clothes at night in the country with no streetlights…so I drive slow
It's sort of misconception that Amish don't allow photos for superstitious reasons. Its mainly to discourage vanity and self obsession, as well as avoiding idols. Which is why the first clip avoided filming them up close out of respect. But the amish themselves are generally polite and won't say much if you do take their pictures, and are generally okay if they know it is for educational / cultural reasons like these videos.
Not sure if you seen the video on the most dangerous ways to get to school but it's really an eye opener on how much value education has and what people would do to get it
There are many Amish in the State of Indiana as well, especially in the northern counties. Growing up it was pretty normal to see them and not thing anything of it. My grandmother was Amish, many classmates were Amish, but they only went to middle school. Many roads have started to incorporate buggy lanes along the sides, and its an accepted rule of thumb that you can pass buggies even in a no-passing zone.
I work in Lancaster and am Pennsylvania Dutch! I've always lived an English lifestyle but spoke some PA Dutch in my grandparents home. I've always been around Amish, Mennonite, and other plainclothes folk so it's always interesting to see other people learn about them!
This is so awesome! I’m from Virginia and my family and I go to an Amish “country” (community) every year to get homemade butter, jams and other cool stuff we find! They’re always super nice and it’s interesting to learn about other cultures/ways of life.
Om from the Kansas/Missouri region. It's very common to see them driving their carriages on the side of the highway. We even have road signs cautioning you to be aware and share the road with them. The mennonites have a high population in these states as well.
Amazing to see! I live in the county of Lancaster where there are so many Amish. There are so many different versions of Amish if you didn't know -- Some even use smartphones! Thank you for this video, as growing up in this area seeing horse and buggies and Amish are so common, it seems normal to me.
4:50, You must remember the size of the Nation they come from. The United States is HUGE. 97% of Americans will never see their own Nations entirety. The expansiveness of the Continent sized Nation means the Amish can have their own lands which could be the equivalent of other Nations.
when we went to disney world we saw a massive group of amish that were on vacation. they can enjoy some of the finer things of technology and whatnot. they just dont own or use them in daily life. there are also different factions of amish if you will. some are hybridized to fit a modern world as in they can drive cars, use calculators at work, use riding lawn mowers etc.etc.
They do some of the best woodwork, and they make desserts that are awesome 0.0... The running joke about the Amish they can put up a barn on Monday and build another by the next day. They are truly hard workers though, and live clean simple lives, a culture to respect for sure. The secret to raising that many kids, is as the first children get older they take over responsibilities of raising the next child, then the next and so on. I would also like to add their culture has some big advantages, 1.) they all know the work to be done, 2.) repair of their tech is also know by the group, 3.) culture and language is all shared within the community. However, there is some in fighting between different communities of the Amish if you investigate this topic further. You might be interested in Rumspringa (jumping or hopping around. Rough translation), it is a rite of passage when the Amish children come of age (adult) they go out into the rest of the world to decide if they want to join the outside world or return and join the Amish community.
I read recently there are many factions of Amish and Mennonite communities who sought to recognize and apologize to the Native Nations whose lands they currently inhabit and whose removal they benefit from. Apologizing for willingly taking the traditional homelands of Natives who were forcibly removed.
I used to work with a woman from a similar community. She asked me one day what rap was. I was really taken aback and realized just how different their lives and our lives are.
The amish enable a lot of horse drawn farm implements, or superb quality. We cut our own hay with a ground driven mower this year, amazing machine they made.
Ice cream is the best made at homes w/no electricity. All natural fresh ingredients. The churn butter and I'm pretty sure they have the old "ice boxes" type refrig.
I live in an area of the US where you see Amish selling food at local farmers markets. Me and my dad bought some bacon from a really cool Amish dude once. We finished that bacon in just an afternoon (there was just half a pound of DELICOIUS bacon)
I remember when I worked at Hobby Lobby a few years ago that there was an Amish family that came in to get fabrics cut. I was so surprised and giddy. It was hard to concentrate. 😆
I live in Pennsylvania! Because everything is done so traditionally, most plainfolk [they aren't all Amish and many have different rules] are considered very talented craftsmen. Their blankets, woodworking, and even baked goods end up all over our state :3
To the guy in the first video: It's Lang-KISS-ter lol The Pennsylvania Dutch way of saying it 😁 Driving by their farms you'll see them (including the kids) up at the crack of dawn in the fields working. People in my town also contract them for their amazing carpentry! They repaired my apartment building's roof last summer. It's definitely different pulling into the grocery store parking lot and seeing a GIANT pile of horse poop cuz a horse and buggy just pulled off lol
I went to college for a year in NW Ohio, and I would go running out in the countryside. You could tell the Amish farms because there were no wires connected to the buildings. And occasionally I would see a farmer out with his team, standing on the equipment and driving the horses. Sometimes they would slow up traffic, but to be short or rude to the Amish was seen as the absolute height of uncool. I respected them immensely.
A lot of German people moved to Pennsylvania during World War 2 and called themselves Pennsylvania Dutch to avoid being associated with the Germans. My family always claimed we were Pennsylvania Dutch, on my mother and father's side of the family, but they were all mostly German, some Irish and others mixed in, but mostly German. Cool video! Anthropology is one of my favorite subjects. And you are both always so kind. Thanks!
Ice cream can be made by hard churning and is something the Amish can indeed make. Without power or technology. They would likely only do so for special occasions but it isn't a lost item.
These families can live even if the rest of the whole world stops. They are taught by family or neighbors, grow most of their own food, and can build just about anything made of wood. They also can have stores that sell bulk foods, backers and other things.
I work for a shipping pallet supply company and if we are to busy we outsource the production of grade A pallets to Amish manufacturers. Their pallets are highest quality. Everything is lined up perfectly square, none of the wood is damaged, and there are never any nails poking out of the stringers. Also, never get in a wrestling match with an Amish.
there’s quite a lot of them in indiana too i live right outside of amish country and i see them all the time though some are mennonite. They always go to the farmers market to sell their food and they have the BEST food omgg it’s so good
There is a substantial number of Amish in Wisconsin also. A friend of mine almost exclusively uses an Amish craftsman for leather/canvas/upholstery work for his boat, and I've gone with him to their workshop. The sewing machines are operated by compressed air; I don't know what powers the compressor (most likely diesel or gas), but it was behind the building, out of sight. They probably have to have a Mennonite neighbor or non-Amish hireling deal with it.
They said Rumspringa means to run around, but it actually means to jump around. It's a German word. Which makes sense as the Amish are jumping in and out of their culture during this time.
I'm actually friends with three amish girls! Unfortunately I only get to talk to them when I visit them in Lancaster but, they're so sweet and so is their family. I have fond memories riding around in their horse and wagon (not a buggy as we were all around 9-11 ish) and electric-less sleepovers!
That's so fun. I grew up in Lancaster too! Also, I love your profile picture. Moomin is my favorite 😁
I use to live in Lancaster; many fond memories :)
i’ve never been to lancaster but i always thought it would be a fun place to visit! i live in western PA so it’d be a nice weekend trip
@@jaelmao2214 their food and handmade work are amazing
@@lexplains definitely! I have several quilts, both inherited and purchased and they are of amazing quality, made to last!
I'm German and hearing them speak is so interesting and strange! I can definitely understand 85% of it, but it sounds off to me and I can't place the accent at all (because it doesn't exist in any german speaking area in europe nowadays!)
Pretty cool haha
Some also use Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. It's more similar to Frisian or Frysk than Dutch.
Plattdeutsch ist halt seeeehr ähnlich
it’s like they’re speaking german with an american accent. wicked cool
That's really interesting. Language can be really fascinating.
Echt? I can’t understand anything was sie sagen XD
Their furniture is immaculate. It's usually hand-dovetailed for 90 degree corners and the craftsmanship is excellent.
Best carpenters I have ever worked with. Nice people.
I bought a dresser a year or two ago
Yes would love to buy furniture from the Amish
Furniture that will last generations. So sturdy.
@@willow2447 Same here. I bought my first house recently and the new furniture I bought is so poorly made, meanwhile my mom and grandparents have decades-old furniture that is still good as new. I think quality has gone down lately because of mass manufacturing so I'd like to buy furniture from somewhere more old-fashioned someday.
Bear in mind, there are different types of Amish communities that have differences in belief from one another. The Amish (also Hutterites), are a conservative sub-grouping of the Mennonite community & there are Amish sub-groups that are even more conservative than other Amish.
"Rumspringa," for example, isn't a universal Amish or Anabaptist tradition - it's only practiced by one segment of the Amish in America. There are Amish people who will fly in airplanes or travel in cars driven by non-Amish & there are others who will not travel in any motor vehicle.
yeah the popular concept of Rumspringa is exaggerated. Its more of the belief that children can't decide to officially join the church until they are adults, and until they officially join the church they can break the rules without too much consequences. Some go further with their rebellious phase than others, but many I know went to parties or had tv's or phones hidden in their barn lofts.
Exactly. There are a lot of things a more liberal Old Order district will tolerate than the Schwartzentruber, Troyer, Bayler, etc. will. It’s not one size fits all. (Edited because spell check changed those three names into some amusing alternatives).
YES. i just made a post trying my best to explain this because i’ve learned about it but i don’t think i didn’t a very good job. i think you did a great job explaining this! i personally think videos like the one shown in this video only show what society generally thinks of the amish but i think the whole like “world”of amish needs to be shown. i personally think the amish are actually very interesting and i love to learn about it:)
We look at rumspringa as an excuse to party and do things you normally can't do. In my area it's mainly new order which does it till you get married which is when you join the church.
Yes, and different rules on things such as being photographed or filmed, using a generator, and so on.
It's interesting to realize that people other places in the world don't know about the Amish. They're known for their good craftsmanship. My grandma would always say "get you something amish made" if you needed new furniture or something.
Only somebody from the States could make such a comment. Why should the rest of the world know about the Amish? Do you know anything about the Mapuches, the Aimaras, the Quechuas? The Amish only exist in the States and the States are not the entire world. Only people from the States think that the rest of the world knows about what goes on in the States whereas the rest of the world couldn't care less about your country.
@@MoiFes well actually Amish also exist in Canada too. Anyway the person just said it is interesting, and open up their perspective. That is all.
@@MoiFes It's not that serious lol. Calm down.
@@andromedamessier3176 You are right. I read my comment again and it sounded pretty spiteful. I guess I just had one of those "internet rage" moments. So sorry!
@@ville666sora I know... I think I was reading a comment from a wrongly called "American" on another topic and I took my anger out on this post. 😢
Love the video content. I saw other comments mentioning the likely high rates of abuse and neglect in Amish/similarly isolated religions/cults, and I would also like to mention there's been several instances of large-scale puppy mills being run by Amish families and communities that led to arrests in the last decade in Pennsylvania. Definitely a more complex community and topic than this video may present.
I didnt wanna ruin their fun lol but yep this
PUPPY MILLS?
Puppy mills for some, farming for others.
Also, I assume being a woman and Amish isn't so great either. I have a lot of Amish near where I live and the women seem so oppressed and the men seem so controlling. The other day this Amish family were at the grocery store and the husband was pushing the cart with his wife trailing behind. The wind blew and a bunch of their toiletries went flying down the road. He simply looked behind him as his items were rolling around the parking lot and just kept walking, knowing full well that his wife will chase after them for him. There's a lot of shitty men in all communities so I'm not trying to profile anyone, but it's the general attitude I've felt within the Amish community around here.
@@florencelove1895 I don’t know. Amish women are housewives but women also run business too. Their baking is so good. It make me feel like most of the time they control the money. But this is generalization, of course. Just like outside, there are case of abuse still.
It would be like in Korea if there were still Hanok villages relying on Joseon dynasty-era technology who maintained Buddhism
*confucianism
joseon kingdom was anti-buddhist & pro-confucian, so a group stuck in old days would practice confucianism
I wish there was villages like that ..
@@thcalicia start one. It is what the Amish did.
@@DeliberateContrarian thats not what the amish did. the amish simply did nothing. they predate modern technology. when they created their towns they were exactly the same as the rest of the country.
maintained buddism?? do u even know what ur talking abt lol
The sad thing is that if an Amish teen decides to live in the modern world, they are completely cut off from their entire community. Their own family and friends will act as if they no longer exist- they won’t talk to them or even look them in the eye ever again.
Yes, is sad. And I think this keeps them for getting nice things....maybe their lifestyle is not that bad as it is simple but I think you can do your religion and advance in society
My cousin fell in love with an Amish fellow and he left his family to be with her. They invited them to the wedding but knew they weren't going to show because doing so they would have been shunned from the community. Well surprise, surprise! They actually came :). They're no longer Amish now, but I believe they are Mennonites
It's a cult. That's how they keep people in it.
@@southernsunb that's right, if one of the incentives for staying in a community is the thrreat of excommunication and isolation, then it's not a safe place to be in.
There's definitely a darker side to Amish faith, thats not usually talked about. But its on the more benign sides as far as cults go. They are generally pacifists so will let you leave if you want. The general premise is that its better to not join the church as an adult than it is to join it and abandon it later. So shunning is a 'peaceful' way to deal with someone who betrayed/abandoned them. But anyone can tell you there is emotional and psychological harm done from shunning, but at least they weren't hanging people like the early Puritans did, or burning at the stake like the Catholics. Many shunned Amish end up becoming Mennonites, which is a less strict form that Amish originally diverged from (this is what my grandmother did), but Amish will accept those back that repent. There have been cases where Amish have left and come back several times.
The second group shown seemed more Mennonite than Amish to me! It looked like they were using battery powered lanterns and the head coverings the women wore didn't completely obscure their hair. I live in Missouri just a few miles away from a group of Mennonites although they're a bit more relaxed with the technology than even those shown in the clips. My younger sister used to work with them at a restaurant and she commented it was always weird to see one of the girls in her Mennonite attire on break texting on a smart phone. They're lovely people, so kind and absolutely fantastic bakers and craftsmen, at least the ones near us.
Yeah, there is a lot of difference in rules from community to community. Growing up the amish here still primarily used Kerosene lanterns inside, but I think they are starting to make more allowances these days for battery powered lamps. Its just a little more convenient and safe to use Battery instead of Kerosene. And they wiggle the rules a little to say that its okay because their house isnt wired to the worldly electrical grid, and Solar power from the sun is for everyone to use, etc.
I live on the East Coast and when we go to the beach, we sometimes go down to the boardwalk. So, it's people in bathing suits, people with tattoos, people engaging in PDA and. . .Mennonites. Yes, they are there like everyone else, eating the french fries and people watching. And it's totally cool.
I grew up with a lot of Mennonite around so I noticed that too, like they had a fridge and etc.
No they were Amish. There are many different types of Amish.
There are Amish communities all over the U.S. when I was a trucker I picked up from Amish businesses all over, lumber from Pennsylvania, Ohio, & Michigan, pallets from Iowa,my home state of Indiana has a huge Amish population including an area where the Amish cater to tourists (nappanee, shipshawana)
They choose to go back because if they leave, they will be shunned by the entire community. They have to give up their entire family if they leave.
There is a branch of the Amish called Mennonites. They still have the same beliefs and dress in plain clothes but they do use modern things like cars and cell phones. A lot of them work in the stores in Lancaster. Near here there is a home for old people where my grandmother lived that is run by Mennonites. They're really nice people.
They mentioned Rumspringa but did talk about what happens if they don't return home. I believe they are shunned so they have never return and lose all contact with their old friends and family. So staying out is a really big decision.
99% of the shows or videos you see of the Amish community are the most modern of the different groups. There are white toppers, yellow toppers, black toppers, and Mennonite. Each group uses a different color for the top of their buggies, but Mennonites drive cars. I live in Central Pennsylvania where we have all of the groups together in one county. I wish more people did documentaries here instead in the tourist trap that is Lancaster...
OOOHHH Mennonite cheese is the best
I just assumed those shows were completely fabricated and scripted. I mean, I know rumspringa is real, but I just figured the wild behavior and the mafia part was made up.
@@amycortez3289 some Amish kids definitely drink and smoke heavily during Rumspringa. They can get pretty wild on a Saturday night 😆
I have never heard of the Amish Mafia until that TV show came out, and I have lived my whole 31 years of life in real Amish country. So my guess is that that show was for sure scripted and fake 🤷🏻♀️
I grew up in rural Lancaster and hearing that land of nearly nothing but corn fields and cows described as a "tourist trap" is hilarious to me
Peter santanello is currently filming a RUclips series about the Amish in Holmes county, OH. It is very accurate. You should check it out
While it is easy to get caught up in the idyllic Ness that they present unfortunately there is a lot of abuse in the Amish community and because they don’t go to outsiders it stays within the community. That plus a few other issues qualifies it as a cult and though I see it as much less harmful as other cults I still would not want to be stuck in that way of life
Yes, I wish people weren't so afraid to admit they are a cult, or at the very least, acknowledge the abusive aspects to their lifestyle. I would say they are comparable to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. If people are okay with calling out their abusive cult practices, why can't the hold the Amish/Anabaptist groups to the same standards?
The excuse I often hear is "they keep to themselves" which just means they get away with so much. Hell, I'd argue they are even more controlling than the other two, and can be just as harmful as other cults because of how insular they are. At least Mormons live in modern society, so we can better keep an eye on them.
Far less abusive than "mainstream" society where we have little boys being castrated and doing drag for crowds of degenerates
@@TomorrowWeLive ah, a TERF troll who knows absolutely nothing about the process of transitioning who is spewing horrible hate towards the most wonderful of people. Trans People are valid and LOVED. By me and so many others #transrightsarehumanrights 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️💪
Little fun facts about the Amish: 1.) Their clothing has to be modist, this includes neutral colors, fabric, and modesty. They do this to live as simply as possible as they believe it is a sin to be color or vibrant, and in showing skin. 2.) Their hairstyles are all the same for the same reasons the clothing, modesty and to create a sense of community, the women have to wear bonnets at it is believed that only a husband is able to see his wife's hair loose and uncovered. 3.) In most Amish communities they do not believe in going to the dentist or seeking medical help due to the advanced technologies hospitals and doctors have today, they also believe it goes against God's plan. 4.) Most kids stop going to school after elementary, it is believed that at this age children should be helping t home and the community 5.) They get engaged to marry very young around 16-17 6.) At 18, young Amish are allowed to venture out of their community and experience life, this is to give them the option if they want to stay in the community for life or leave. They only have this one chance, and if a child decides to leave unfortunately they will be shunned by their own family and cimmunity.
Facts 3-6 are definitely not practiced everywhere. I grew up in an area with a very conservative group of Amish and only facts 1and 2 are accurate about them. They go to school until 8th grade( that’s the end of middle school), go to the doctor and dentist when needed, but not as much as an English person would. They are also encouraged to wait and marry after 18, preferably in the early 20s. This group didn’t practice Rumspringa either (I know it is practiced elsewhere).
Yeah, there is a small town dentist and doctor they go to here with no problem. Though they are one of the few groups exempted from things like insurance and social security. Their belief is that their community will raise funds for those that need it. Here they also went to Middle School 8th grade with us and then quit.
@@rachelsmith6900 Oh interesting! I wonder why the Amish community here in Oregon they do what I have listed. Almost all of the majority of my Amish friends why have left) have told me that they didn't go to middle school I believe only 2 did, and around 4 of them were already married when they left at 19. What's interesting also is that they all told me that in their particular community they didn't even have a small-town doctor because the community was concerned about influencing the community about the outside, unless it was an extreme emergency they did their best with homeopathic remedies. But that's what I find very interesting about the Amish community, each community in itself throughout the US is different! I myself left the Mormon community in Utah around 10 years ago
Also, Lancaster is not pronounced LAN-cast-er. It's LANC-ast-er.
OMG I used to live in Pennsylvania, I used to buy their baked goods and OMG its soooo good haha! Also one interesting fact Amish communities helped slaves to escape by hiding them in their farms! They took a big part in the underground roads
Have you seen the tv show "Breaking Amish"? It's interesting and sometimes a bit different. The Amish leaders are only men. Women are seen as....having kids, keeping the house ,cooking and doing what your husband says. They make their outfits, but do not use buttons, and many do not choose their own spouse. They also work hard and the wood work is amazing. It is interesting, but also in our 2021 world, we could considerate many things cruel. Thanks for sharing the video🦋
This is what I heard of them...I think they reacted to a nice video but here, in Spain, as far as I know, we don't have a nice idea of them
As an ex amish that show is shit
Breaking Amish is fake
Ooof actually everthing about that show was faked. I was so shock when I found out, and I've felt like a huge fool.
Most of that programme was staged. Also, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Judaism, Islam, and a number of other world religions only have male leaders. I’m not saying I agree, just pointing out it’s not exclusive to only small, conservative groups. Secondly, the Amish choose their own spouses. There aren’t arranged marriages in the Anabaptist tradition (there is in a number of far larger world religions though). They don’t believe in divorce, however, so you can get ‘stuck’ in a marriage if it doesn’t work out. They can separate but not divorce. BTW, as a third note, I can afford to buy but I make a lot of my own clothing too. I’ve received more compliments on some of my self-made clothes than on some incredibly expensive items I have. I hate the buttonhole thing on my sewing machine and zippers annoy me, so I often use snaps or hooks and eyes on items that need closure points. Granted I do this voluntarily, but it’s not really a huge hardship in life.
I lived in Upstate New York (like 35 minutes from the Canadian border ) theres a lot of Amish there .. we had horse carriage parking spots at Walmart lolol
They would sell stuff at the local farmers market.. they made some BOMB 💣 baked goods
I'm also on the Canadian border in the real upstate NY. Can confirm the parking for buggies.
Growing up in Lancaster County, and also having some of my family that was Mennonite, it's definitely an interesting way of living. When I was younger I thought it would be so cool to live like them. But now I see how controlling they truly are. Everyone sees them as living a simple life, which is fair. But the church literally has control over what they wear, who they are allowed to communicate with, not to mention how misogynistic it is!
so interesting to hear your perspective from Lancaster. I live in Ohio in a community with a large number of Amish and I feel like animal abuse is a huge problem. but I guess the definition of what is animal abuse has to do with perspective. I'm a firm person who expects my 1000lb animals to mind their manners and won't tolerate bad behavior from them so I don't think it's that I'm just a softy. my mom had a horse ruined by an ex-Amish trainer. We'll never know exactly what he did to her but she was cowering in her stall shaking and it took months to rebuild her trust. and the poor girl never trust anyone but my mom ever again. she was nasty to every human in existence after that.
anyway my question was do you see this sort of thing as a problem in Lancaster? I know they've had puppy mill shutdowns out there. that's big business here too for the Amish
@@laceyl5682 Hello, nice to hear from you! I hear a lot about puppy Mills in Lancaster, and how poorly they treat their animals. I haven't heard of any horses being trained like that, that sounds so awful! :/
The Amish seemed to be praised for living a simple life with no technology, but regular people only see the surface. It is a pretty toxic and misogynistic community!
You don't know what toxic or misogynistic even is. You could call it "sexist" but there is literally nothing misogynistic. If you wanna talk about "toxic", I'll just laugh. The most toxic people I've ever met in life were on college campuses. All the amish/Mennonite I've met or seen keep to themselves and are people of few and honest words. From the looks of your post, you're more toxic than any Amish.
@@bud389 Your insults aren't welcome.
Whatever term you use--misogynistic or sexist, it's definitely women as second class. They're not allowed to go to school past the 8th grade--sort of limits their life choices. On one hand, the religion outlines definite roles for men and women, and everyone follows those rules. But considering the traditional woman's roles are subservient to men...not sure it's fair. If it's like other traditional Christian faiths, men make the rules in the church, and women follow them. It means men rule over the women.
For most of them, they live a farm life. It's common to wake up that early, earlier if your the one to cook. Around 5am or so you get up eat breakfast then out the door doing chores. Animals need feeding, cows milking, eggs gathered. If you have lots of animals taking care of them can take a long time. Then there's working in the fields most of the day caring for the crops, weeding and watering, planting and harvest. In between or later in day there's hundreds of chores and things that need doing, then in evening time to take care of the animals again. It's a busy life but a nice life.
When you don't have electricity you go to bed a lot earlier. In the winter it can get dark around 6:30pm, in the summer 8 or 9. So it makes more sense to get up earlier too, Many have farms for basic sustenance, but still have jobs in factories etc. So they have to get up to eat, and feed the livestock before leaving for work.
We have many “share the road” signs in the USA… for tractors, moose, and for horse and buggy!
Im not too far from some peacock crossing signs 😅
And no I'm not out in the country.
I grew up in Lancaster, so it's pretty interesting to see you guys take on something that is so normal here.
Growing up in wisconsin USA it has a fairly large Amish population. I actually helped a boy I met on his rumspinger leave his Amish family because he chose to join the modern Lifestyle. Gave him a place to live and got him a modern job and license. Kurt now has a family of his own and house and is still a regular at any parties at my house.
my grandfather grew up in a chasidic community in new york city in the 40s and 50s (chasidism being a sect of orthodox judaism)- so, obviously there’s a theological difference there, from the amish, but a lot of the practices are the same with regard to modest, traditional dress, kids being discouraged from going to secular schools, electricity-usage, being an insular community with its own language (russian yiddish), and from what i understand of his childhood, marginalization even within the larger jewish community. fascinating to see the comparison here, personally
I’m Jewish but have some Amish heritage from a grandparent. Sometimes I wear an Amish made dress because it’s tznius. I have always been fascinated by how the two groups, while obviously radically different theologically, have many similar “rules” about conduct, dress, etc.
Many Hassids don't like us mainstream Jews and have very strict gender roles. My family is split between Israeli Orthodox all the way to non practicing.
@@katherinetepper-marsden38 yeah, i know all that. same here
@@katherinetepper-marsden38 I’m MO so I understand. Fortunately my Hasidic friends are Lubavitch, so they’re on the more open side. Plus, if you’re ever short on a menorah, candles, a kosher mezuzah, rent a sukkah, whatever, they will set you up joyously. And then send you a calendar every year for the rest of your life. 😉
This is awesome. This is where I'm from (Lancaster, PA) and it is so interesting to see people from other parts of the world learning about it! I am no Amish, but my German ancestors also came to America alongside the Amish (my ancestors were Lutheran) and they also spoke Pennsylvania Dutch. Some of the words are still used today and I'm proud of my heritage!!
(I'm also partly Italian - My grandfather was born in Italy)
My dad lived in lancaster for a decent part of my elementary/middle school years & we actually lived next to a Mennonite woman & her mom! Mennonites are similar to the Amish in how they look, but they can use electricity, drive vehicles, etc. She would always make me & my sister pies & even made us wooden pencil boxes 🥺. She was an amazing wood carver & even sold some of her creations at the Amish markets tourists would go to. My dad moved out of lancaster years ago, but sometimes I wonder how she's doing :)
You guys should react on ‘Return to Amish’. It is a TLC show.
Ooooo or Breaking Amish
Those shows are both 100% fake by the way. Watch Peter Santonellos series with the Amish
@@tbone9803 yeahhhh you right that one is 10x better
@@tbone9803 Ahh Amish stuff is so popular again online, I've been watching those and watch this channel lol
If only Discovery wasn’t a douche of a company and didn’t demonetize reaction videos.
Just so you guys know, when we run into Amish as Americans, it's VERY foreign to us as well!
Also, I know you were joking, but the Amish do have fridge and freezers! They’re just called ice boxes. There is a TikTok somewhere around here. They harvest ice in the winter that lasts all summer and they keep it in one side of a very thick walled and well insulated shed type building. On the other side is their “fridge”.
To think we do “the Amish thing” as entertainment in our culture by going camping and doing things like that to disconnect. I’ve always enjoyed reading and learning about their lifestyle. I can’t say I agree with everything they do and believe but I do think there’s something to be said for the way they choose to live.
This is officially my favourite RUclips channel ever, love you guys! ❤️
Really interesting video, love you guys! I've grown up in New Jersey (so next to PA) and we always love to go to markets where they sell Amish bread. Their baking is 😍. Unfortuantely, the Amish are known to run puppy mills - it's one of the biggest, if not the largest, concentration of puppy mills in the USA. Really, really horrible conditions and a lot of people work to rescue dogs from that life :(. Of course, this isn't all of them!
Most Amish churches have really cracked down on that in the last 10 years
yeah wish it was all of them. Still so many dogs being rescued from there :(
@@WolfxEyed it's still not acceptable among the vast majority of Amish
lol k I'm not arguing. Itis still very prevalent. Many NJ rescues take in puppy mill dogs from the Amish so there's still supply...
Hearing the Pennsylvania Deutch was so weird and interesting for me bc I speak German but hearing that dialect was like hearing an English speaker speak broken German (or maybe someone speaking German w/ an English accent) 😂😂 my brain was like are they speaking English or German??
(I also live in Pennsylvania too but I live in the suburbs outside of Philadelaphia so I only see Amish ppl if I have to go to Lancaster for whatever reason 😂)
The Amish way of life seems like it would be amazing to have, maybe 5 days a week but I don't think I could live entirely without technology. Its too ingrained in me at 36 years old to just never have it again, as much as I love the idea of an idyllic lifestyle.
My family always thought I was so strange for how much I loved when the power in our house got knocked out by the hurricanes for days on end. I didn’t understand why they would sleep in the car or how it was frustrating to them instead of peaceful. To me, it felt so right with the lanterns and the candles and the pure (or eerie, depending on who you asked) quiet without the hum of electricity that no one else seemed to hear. They always laughed when I told them it felt like a vacation. It still does. Sometimes when I’m able to (which isn’t very often), I unplug and turn off all the electronics that I can in my house and if I need to see at night, I move by candlelight. Maybe it’s silly to complain, but I feel like we strive too much toward convenience and tend to leave substance behind. So many of us are at everyone’s beck and call because everyone expects you to have a cell phone in your pocket and they feel entitled to reach you at any time, feeding into our growing addiction of instant gratification, which leads to a vicious cycle. You can’t not have one because it’s expected of you, and it’s expected of you because everyone has one. And yet I’m typing all this on my smartphone (that I once got rid of because I get addicted to it, but was gifted a new one from my family, lol I couldn’t escape[I know, boohoo, first world problems]) and I just bought a tablet for my work (lots of sheet music= one download or lots of paper). I’m not any better, it’s just what I recognize. Obviously there are positives, especially when it comes to accessibility. I don’t know, I guess I just wish it didn’t come at the cost of our calm.
I live in tennessee and we have several Amish, Mennonite family's here.. I remember growing up I had no clue we had Amish here.. has the years pass we see more and more of them. They have some of the best shops around and are known for there building skills. They park there horse and buggy underneath a tree at the Walmart here, walmart made them post for there horses.
I live in Ontario Canada in a town with horse and buggies constantly on our roads because we have many Mennonites in our area (they are very similar to the Amish but have some differences in their religion). In my area, parking lots sometimes have covered areas reserved specifically for when they park their horse and carriage and go into stores. It’s fascinating to be so close to a community that lives so differently, and to see and interact with them regularly but know we will always be so separate.
The amish follow a pretty decentralized religion. Meaning communities have their own Bishops and decide their own rules, so some will be very strict, while others might be pretty relaxed with their rules. Some only allow specific colors of clothes, others don't care so much. One of the house they showed had shutters on the windows, which isnt accepted by the Amish here in northern Indiana. The general concept of their beliefs is to set themselves apart from the materialistic world, and to avoid vanities. But many of the things that made sense a hundred years ago don't make as much sense now, but its still accepted by tradition. For example Amish generally do not wear buttons, because in the 1800s fancy decorative buttons were a huge fashion symbol. They don't drive cars and use motorized equipment because cars were originally luxury items. But as time goes on they work in little loop-holes in the rules, while still trying to keep traditions. Like owning a business, and the business has electricity or equipment, but they personally don't.
About a year ago I was obsessed with the tv series: Breaking Amish and Return to Amish lol.
My grandmother lives in the country and all her neighbors are amish they are really sweet and hardworking people from my experience
I love going to the Amish country in my state, they have really good dutch food and food In general. Also, Fun fact, the Amish in Indiana have a genetic code in their body that is called “the fountain of youth”
You two are lovely beyond belief. Thank you so much for sharing your worldview and gentle souls.
Oh my, this is a flash back. ROFL 😂.I live in the province of British Columbia Canada. I attended a family reunion as a teenager in the neighboring province of Alberta. My family town there has a large population of Menonites. They have their differences from the Amish, but from a modern perspective, a very similar lifestyle and belief structure.
I met a great uncle at the reunion for the first time. He was a man who liked his alcohol and cruel pranks. I was respectful/terrified of him and accepted everything he said as gospel. Well into his whiskey, he confided to me that Menonite girls were desperate to find a husband and I'd do well to try my city boy pick up moves on one of them. He was full of crap! If you want to learn what you need to do to find yourself running for life from a Menonite father, you only need to listen to my great uncle. ROFL 😂
I live in western PA which has a big population of Amish also. They are some of the hardest working people you'd ever meet. Their woodworking and handmade quilts and arts are second to none. The ones I've met have been very sweet and kind. There are buggy hitching posts at our grocery stores. 😊❤
My parents live out in Amish Country in Lancaster County! You get used to driving around the buggies, and smell of horses. They've met a lot of Amish people and learned a lot about their lifestyle. They also get to buy a lot of fresh dairy, eggs, cider, etc. They love it out there!
The Amish do some great wood work. That's the only thing that I know about them from PA.
Also great baked goods
My dad bought these handmade wagon wheels from the Amish and they were so beautiful!
I bought a dresser a year or 2 ago. Love it
They’re really, really into incest.
I'm from Lancaster and learning how to pass horse-and-buggies on the street is part of learning to drive.
While growing up my family spent a lot of time camping in Lancaster, Pennsylvania which is a big Amish community we did it every other weekend for about 8 years so I saw them a lot.
Guy at the beginning: "I can't show their faces to respect their culture and privacy."
What we see next: Full view of an entire family's life, featuring their happy (and sleepy) faces.
I think the following video might be a reenactment.
I actually know about them way back bc of a TLC but they showed them in a very diffrent light there...
I immediately knew it was Drew Binskys voice! He is absolutely amazing and you should watch more if his travel videos. Hes almost to 197 countries!
I grew up in Berks County- neighboring Lancaster. It was cool to have such a different, old-fashioned culture right there within our own modern society. Getting stuck behind a horse and buggy could get frustrating when in a rush, but otherwise it was beautiful. Besides the Amish, there were Mennonites and just the regular ol' Pennsylvania Dutch people. I used to love encountering the older folks who still spoke the language. I miss the beautiful roadside produce stands, amazing baked goods (shoo-fly pie!), and other PA Dutch foods- omg and Shady Maple Smorgasbord! 🤤 I've lived in Las Vegas for the last decade. This video made me miss home a bit.
i live near a few amish communities, its always so fun to see them coming down the road in a horse and buggy! there's an amish market near my house too that has the tastiest food :)
A few years ago I was at the airport, there was an Amish family there and when they saw the moving walkways a couple of them got so excited that they dropped their suitcases to run over and get onto it, it was hilarious.
They don’t bother anyone and just want to live their life. As far as I know they have high moral standards. As long as they choose this lifestyle and don’t harm anyone leave them be.
It makes sense that they go to bed/get up that early. Even aside from getting up early to farm. Same with the 8.5 kid average. Think about it, it gets dark, there's probably not much to read other than a Bible (which they probably know cover to cover) There's also no television for entertainment. So ma & pa slide off together and work on baby 9.5 and fall asleep immediately after 😆 Just a guess!%g
I grew up in Pennsylvania and there was an Amish owned spice shop downtown in my small hometown. My brother worked at a bar when he was in college with a guy who was on the show breaking Amish. Crazy to me that so many people aren’t familiar with the Amish because it was so normal for me growing up.
I love the fashion and the close knitted communities but not the puppy mills
Most of them don't run puppy Mills, and it's highly frowned upon by most Amish churches
@@tbone9803 Frowned upon but not downright abolished.
I work in central Illinois and one of the areas I visit has a large Amish community. They are very private. I often slow down to pass their horse drawn carriages as not to startle the horses. Everyone respects that. They are also well know for having the best furniture and produce for sale.
my family was amish a few generations back! my grandad speaks pennsylvania dutch and gave me a few dvds on how to speak it, too. it’s such a fascinating language!
Do any members of your family still live the Amish lifestyle, and are you able to visit with them?
Zoey: today we're going to learn about the amish
me, coming from a Mennonite/Amish blood line: finally, something I have a bit of knowledge about
Actually, my grandmother was Mennonite(I even went to a Mennonite church for preschool), and the part of PA that I'm from has a lot more Mennonites than Amish(2 hours west from Lancaster), but I would like to add that Amish people can ride in cars and everything, they just can't drive them. My mom and her friend used to drive some of the local Amish ladies around to get their shopping done, and everything.
I also want to point out that there is a show on TLC called "Breaking Amish" that deals with Amish kids that come of age deciding if they want to break free from the church or stay with it, I haven't really watched it, but my mom watches it and that's how I know it exists.
I love seeing videos of people reacting to amish, my family was amish and I grew up in a amish community. I even speak some Pennsylvanian dutch as well.
If I weren't glued to my pc for nearly every waking moment this life would sound amazing. Waking up before 5am and going to sleep at sundown are things you can get used to. And while they might not have icecream stored in freezers, I dare to bet there's some local tasty snacks just waiting to be tried.
On the whole it looks quite peaceful, far more family oriented than anything you'll see out in the modern world, and there seems to be less pressure on people. Those things sound quite amazing. If only there was internet. Oh well, can't have everything.
Imagine if the ONLY piece of tech they were allowed to have was a smartphone, and the only acceptable use of that technology was making TikTok videos to educate the outside world about Amish life 😆
I have to think they have some kinds of refrigeration that they use. I think the people in the family segment had a fridge actually. And if not freezers, they could use ice boxes. I'll have to do some Googling.. :) It's really interesting.
@@Always4Bangtan Refrigerators powered by gas, usually propane.
Careful driving through these communities! I’m in Ohio and have to sometimes, and it’s scary to be on a country road with a 50mph speed limit, and go over a hill and then there’s a horse carriage right in front of you that you couldn’t see, or they’re walking in the plain black clothes at night in the country with no streetlights…so I drive slow
Back in 1994, my baseball tour group encountered an Amish family @ Niagra Falls. They were very polite & friendly.
It's sort of misconception that Amish don't allow photos for superstitious reasons. Its mainly to discourage vanity and self obsession, as well as avoiding idols. Which is why the first clip avoided filming them up close out of respect. But the amish themselves are generally polite and won't say much if you do take their pictures, and are generally okay if they know it is for educational / cultural reasons like these videos.
I love you two so much
Yum's face this whole episode had me cracking up
Not sure if you seen the video on the most dangerous ways to get to school but it's really an eye opener on how much value education has and what people would do to get it
There are many Amish in the State of Indiana as well, especially in the northern counties. Growing up it was pretty normal to see them and not thing anything of it. My grandmother was Amish, many classmates were Amish, but they only went to middle school. Many roads have started to incorporate buggy lanes along the sides, and its an accepted rule of thumb that you can pass buggies even in a no-passing zone.
I work in Lancaster and am Pennsylvania Dutch! I've always lived an English lifestyle but spoke some PA Dutch in my grandparents home. I've always been around Amish, Mennonite, and other plainclothes folk so it's always interesting to see other people learn about them!
This is so awesome! I’m from Virginia and my family and I go to an Amish “country” (community) every year to get homemade butter, jams and other cool stuff we find! They’re always super nice and it’s interesting to learn about other cultures/ways of life.
Om from the Kansas/Missouri region. It's very common to see them driving their carriages on the side of the highway. We even have road signs cautioning you to be aware and share the road with them. The mennonites have a high population in these states as well.
Amazing to see! I live in the county of Lancaster where there are so many Amish. There are so many different versions of Amish if you didn't know -- Some even use smartphones! Thank you for this video, as growing up in this area seeing horse and buggies and Amish are so common, it seems normal to me.
4:50, You must remember the size of the Nation they come from. The United States is HUGE. 97% of Americans will never see their own Nations entirety. The expansiveness of the Continent sized Nation means the Amish can have their own lands which could be the equivalent of other Nations.
when we went to disney world we saw a massive group of amish that were on vacation. they can enjoy some of the finer things of technology and whatnot. they just dont own or use them in daily life. there are also different factions of amish if you will. some are hybridized to fit a modern world as in they can drive cars, use calculators at work, use riding lawn mowers etc.etc.
They do some of the best woodwork, and they make desserts that are awesome 0.0... The running joke about the Amish they can put up a barn on Monday and build another by the next day. They are truly hard workers though, and live clean simple lives, a culture to respect for sure. The secret to raising that many kids, is as the first children get older they take over responsibilities of raising the next child, then the next and so on. I would also like to add their culture has some big advantages, 1.) they all know the work to be done, 2.) repair of their tech is also know by the group, 3.) culture and language is all shared within the community. However, there is some in fighting between different communities of the Amish if you investigate this topic further. You might be interested in Rumspringa (jumping or hopping around. Rough translation), it is a rite of passage when the Amish children come of age (adult) they go out into the rest of the world to decide if they want to join the outside world or return and join the Amish community.
VERY interesting episode of ReacThing! Thanx for the upload. More vids like this one please. Very reflective. 😊
I read recently there are many factions of Amish and Mennonite communities who sought to recognize and apologize to the Native Nations whose lands they currently inhabit and whose removal they benefit from. Apologizing for willingly taking the traditional homelands of Natives who were forcibly removed.
I used to work with a woman from a similar community. She asked me one day what rap was. I was really taken aback and realized just how different their lives and our lives are.
The amish enable a lot of horse drawn farm implements, or superb quality. We cut our own hay with a ground driven mower this year, amazing machine they made.
Ice cream is the best made at homes w/no electricity. All natural fresh ingredients. The churn butter and I'm pretty sure they have the old "ice boxes" type refrig.
I live in an area of the US where you see Amish selling food at local farmers markets. Me and my dad bought some bacon from a really cool Amish dude once. We finished that bacon in just an afternoon (there was just half a pound of DELICOIUS bacon)
I remember when I worked at Hobby Lobby a few years ago that there was an Amish family that came in to get fabrics cut. I was so surprised and giddy. It was hard to concentrate. 😆
I live in Pennsylvania! Because everything is done so traditionally, most plainfolk [they aren't all Amish and many have different rules] are considered very talented craftsmen.
Their blankets, woodworking, and even baked goods end up all over our state :3
To the guy in the first video: It's Lang-KISS-ter lol The Pennsylvania Dutch way of saying it 😁
Driving by their farms you'll see them (including the kids) up at the crack of dawn in the fields working. People in my town also contract them for their amazing carpentry! They repaired my apartment building's roof last summer.
It's definitely different pulling into the grocery store parking lot and seeing a GIANT pile of horse poop cuz a horse and buggy just pulled off lol
Right? I called it Lan-cast-er one time and my husband (used to live literally 30 minutes from the city) looked at me like I stepped on a frog.
@@CocoCece08 haha yes, I always tell my friends this so they don't get weird looks 🤣
I went to college for a year in NW Ohio, and I would go running out in the countryside. You could tell the Amish farms because there were no wires connected to the buildings. And occasionally I would see a farmer out with his team, standing on the equipment and driving the horses. Sometimes they would slow up traffic, but to be short or rude to the Amish was seen as the absolute height of uncool. I respected them immensely.
A lot of German people moved to Pennsylvania during World War 2 and called themselves Pennsylvania Dutch to avoid being associated with the Germans. My family always claimed we were Pennsylvania Dutch, on my mother and father's side of the family, but they were all mostly German, some Irish and others mixed in, but mostly German. Cool video! Anthropology is one of my favorite subjects. And you are both always so kind. Thanks!
Bullshit. They call themself Deutsch, which sounds like Dutch to you english people.
Always good to see beautiful Yumi.
Ice cream can be made by hard churning and is something the Amish can indeed make. Without power or technology. They would likely only do so for special occasions but it isn't a lost item.
They are also well known a horse breeders - which makes perfect sense, but a significant number of draft animals in the US are Amish Bred.
that guy trying to paint the amish way of life in such a positive light needs to listen to what ex amish have to say 😭😭😭
These families can live even if the rest of the whole world stops. They are taught by family or neighbors, grow most of their own food, and can build just about anything made of wood. They also can have stores that sell bulk foods, backers and other things.
I work for a shipping pallet supply company and if we are to busy we outsource the production of grade A pallets to Amish manufacturers. Their pallets are highest quality. Everything is lined up perfectly square, none of the wood is damaged, and there are never any nails poking out of the stringers.
Also, never get in a wrestling match with an Amish.
Great reaction as always! I recommend the Harrison Ford film "Witness", from 1985. A great thriller set in the Amish community.
You two ladies are fun to watch!
there’s quite a lot of them in indiana too i live right outside of amish country and i see them all the time though some are mennonite. They always go to the farmers market to sell their food and they have the BEST food omgg it’s so good
There is a substantial number of Amish in Wisconsin also. A friend of mine almost exclusively uses an Amish craftsman for leather/canvas/upholstery work for his boat, and I've gone with him to their workshop. The sewing machines are operated by compressed air; I don't know what powers the compressor (most likely diesel or gas), but it was behind the building, out of sight. They probably have to have a Mennonite neighbor or non-Amish hireling deal with it.
Furthermore, Amish baked goods are AWESOME.
They said Rumspringa means to run around, but it actually means to jump around. It's a German word. Which makes sense as the Amish are jumping in and out of their culture during this time.