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1.  All Amish are farmers

While many Amish continue the generational tradition of farming, numerous Amish have chosen to enter other sectors.  Many Amish are exceptional carpenters and woodworkers, doing construction and building furniture.  Others are businessmen and shop owners.

2.  The Amish don’t use any electricity or electronics

The Amish do not have electricity running into their houses like the average American does, true.  However, most Amish families and businesses have generators which they use to power various appliances or devices in their homes.  Also, though the Amish will not allow a phone in their homes, it is not uncommon for Amish to own cell phones for business purposes, or to have a land line phone in the barn or other outbuilding.

3.  The Amish speak in Old English (thee’s and thou’s)

The Amish are actually a trilingual people.  They speak Pennsylvania Dutch (or more properly, Pennsylvania German) in their homes, High German in church, and English when dealing with the non-Amish.  Pennsylvania Dutch is not a written language, so Amish children learn to read and write English in their earliest school years.

4.  All American women who wear both dresses and head coverings are Amish

Amish girls often begin wearing head coverings to church functions at an early age, with some groups having their baby girls heads covered from their first week of attendance.  Age can vary, but generally between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, Amish girls start wearing a woman’s head covering on a daily basis.  However, Amish are not the only women in America who wear dresses and head coverings.  This is also common attire among Mennonites, Hutterites, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, and is even gaining popularity in some conservative Protestant circles.

5.  The Amish don’t pay taxes

If self-employed, the Amish do not contribute to Social Security.  Otherwise, the Amish do pay state and federal income taxes, property taxes, etc.  The Amish do not however, use public schools (often funded by property taxes) or utilize government services such as unemployment or welfare.

6.  The Amish do not travel outside their communities

Because the Amish generally travel by horse and buggy, outsiders tend to think they do not travel outside of their communities.  It is important to understand that while the Amish do not own or drive cars, they often hire drivers who take their children to school, drive them to stores, transport them to job sites, and even chauffeur them on vacations!  Amish love a good vacation as much as the rest of us and can be spotted traveling anywhere from the beaches of the East Coast to the deserts of the Grand Canyon.  Some Amish will even hop aboard a plane and travel overseas on mission trips!

7.  The Amish don’t go to traditional doctors

The Amish don’t participate in traditional health insurance plans.  They do however, go to doctors and embrace modern medicine.  When significant medical emergencies occur, the Amish community comes together to meet the financial need.

8.  Amish Mafia and Breaking Amish reflect the Amish community

“Reality” shows such as Amish Mafia and Breaking Amish are perpetrated as truth to millions of viewers around the globe.  But for those who live and work near Amish communities, they’re seen as exploitation rather than fact.  Amish Mafia, like Breaking Amish and other Amish “reality” shows, took a few elements of real-life truth and built an entire TV series around those elements.  Though technically, one couldn’t really dub Amish Mafia with the disclaimer of “Based on a true story” considering the vast amount of misrepresentations in the Lebanon Levi drama portrayed on the show.

9.  Amish communities don’t celebrate Christmas, or other holidays

Though their traditions vary somewhat from what Christians outside of the Amish world may do, the Amish celebrate Christmas – they even celebrate Second Christmas!   The Amish also celebrate Thanksgiving, Easter, New Years, and many other holidays.

10.  Amish marriages are arranged

Much to the contrary, an Amish couple often surprises even their family when their engagement is announced during a Sunday morning service!

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1.  Time to party!

Add some bluetooth speakers and our electrical package to your gazebo to light up the evening with your favorite tunes for the best party on the block!

2.  The coolest spot in the sun!

A gazebo provides so much more than simply a place to gather.  Add one of our fans to your gazebo and experience shade AND cool, all while still enjoying the great outdoors!  

3.  The place to be!

What happens when everybody in town wants to come to your house to party?  Bragging rights.  Add a hardtop gazebo and watch how quickly you become the envy of your neighbors!

4.  Your picnic just got that much better

Add a gazebo to your landscape and viola!  Picture perfect summer picnic.

5.  A place for all those hanging plants

With all those friends visiting you this summer, it’s time to plan for how to display the many hanging plants you’re going to collect.  With a gazebo or pergola, your problem is solved!  

6.  An insect free summer

Add windows to your gazebo (or consider our screened add ons) and suddenly, you have an insect free haven to enjoy the summer!  Because who doesn’t want a picnic without the nuisance of flies and bugs?

7.  The best place for a lunch break

No one wants to be working inside on a warm summer day.  Getting outside for lunch in the gazebo is just what the doctor ordered!

8.  The perfect spot to finish up that summer reading

How big is your summer reading list?  Wouldn’t it be great to have a shady spot to relax and dive into those far away worlds you’ve been waiting to explore?

9.  Moonlight romance

Ever since the classic gazebo scenes from The Sound of Music, star struck couples have found gazebos to be an effective facilitator of romance.  Who wouldn’t?

10.  Happily ever afters

Weddings, weddings, weddings! Summer is all about weddings!  If you’ve never been to a gazebo wedding, you’re missing out.

Ready to order?  Check out our gazebo-in-a-box options for a DIY summer project, or customize your gazebo with our design-your-gazebo tool today!

The post 10 Ways a Gazebo Makes Summer Better appeared first on Amish Country Gazebos.

Though all Amish cooking has a distinct deliciousness, there are a number of dishes the Amish are particularly famous for.  We’ve listed a few below; check out more on our Amish Recipes Board on Pinterest!

There’s only one place to begin a discussion on popular Amish dishes.  Shoofly pie!  What could be more Amish than shoofly pie?  (And if you know the difference between a wet-bottom and a dry-bottom shoofly pie, you definitely grew up in Amish country!)

Though it originated in the British Isles, another popular Amish dish is the crowd pleasing shepherd’s pie.  This casserole can be made with beef, lamb, or turkey, mixed with vegetables, and topped with mashed potatoes.  Cheese, tomatoes, corn, and baked beans may also be added to the recipe.  Yum!

Then there is the bread – any bread!  You haven’t eaten bread until you’ve tasted some homemade in Amish Country!  Whether it’s corn bread, white bread, cinnamon bread, dinner rolls, or buttermilk biscuits, after one bite, your taste-buds will never accept bread made anywhere else.

And last but not least, there’s the famous Amish Country whoopie pie!  Though Maine and New Hampshire also claim to be the birthplace of the whoopie pie, the simple fact is that this delicious treat is an Amish tradition that originated in Pennsylvania’s own Lancaster County.  (Lancaster even has an annual whoopie pie festival – the most delicious day in Lancaster!)  Available in a variety of sizes and flavors, whoopie pies are Amish Country’s favorite treat, for residents and tourists alike!   Read more about whoopie pies on Lancaster County’s website.

Have you tried Amish cooking?  What’s your favorite Amish dish?  Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

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Maybe you want to use your gazebo year round?  Or you’re looking for some music for your party?  Perhaps it’s a place to sit that you’re after.  Whatever it is, our new line of gazebo accessories has everything you need to make your gazebo better than ever!

Add one of our ceiling fans to your gazebo and enjoy the cool breeze on a summer day.  Winter?  No problem!  Our wall mounted and floor heaters bring warmth to any outdoor space.

And what gazebo would be complete without a patio set?  Enjoy true comfort and style with a glass table and aluminum chairs.

Last but not least, relax and recharge with your favorite music after a long day’s work.  Install Bluetooth speakers in your gazebo or pavilion and enjoy!

Ready to enhance your gazebo?  Give us a call at 1-800-700-1777 to discuss our gazebo accessories or request a catalog today!

The post Gazebo Accessories appeared first on Amish Country Gazebos.

Image courtesy The Telegraph

Image Courtesy KenW

Image Courtesy KenW

Image courtesy Fran – Just Fran

Image courtesy Vos Iz Neias

Image courtesy Tom E. Puskar, Ashland Times-Gazette

Image courtesy Susan Spiritus Gallery

And for our friends who prefer live action… enjoy this clip of some real Amish country snow day fun! Buggy, skis, snow and all! 

The post An Amish Snow Day appeared first on Amish Country Gazebos.

The Amish and Mennonites both originated from the Anabaptist movement (those who rejected infant baptism) in Europe.  In 1693, a Swiss Anabaptist leader named Jacob Ammann expressed his concern that the church was conforming too much to the world, and was failing to practice what he believed was the proper form of Biblical church discipline, shunning.  Those who followed Ammann formed what would become the Amish church.

In the centuries that followed, Amish communities became known for their plain dress, mustache-less beards, head coverings, buggies, and simple lifestyle.  Many Mennonite communities however, engage in some of these same practices.  So how can you tell the difference?

Is a plain family Amish or Mennonite?  Mennonite men may or may not have a beard, straw hat, or suspenders.  In fact, many Mennonite men look no different from any other “English” man walking down the street.  That said, they could also look almost exactly like the Amish fellas you’ve seen in pictures and on Lancaster County postcards!  This is because there are a vast array of Mennonite sects, with different communities having different rules regarding their appearance and interaction with the world.

If the men look no different, the women’s dresses may provide insight on whether they are Amish or Mennonite.  While Amish women might wear colored dresses, they will always be one solid color.  Mennonite women, on the other hand, may have patterns and designs on their dress fabric.  The head covering is another indication – though they are often more helpful in designating the various sects within the Amish and Mennonite communities than between the two groups directly.  As a fairly standard rule, though, if the head covering is a small, stringless cap or doily on the back or top of head, it is not an Amish covering.

One fail-safe indicator in determining whether a family is Amish or Mennonite is to look at their method of transportation.  Unlike the Amish, Mennonites are not prohibited from using motorized vehicles.  In addition, Mennonites are also allowed to use electricity and  telephones in their homes.

When it comes to their beliefs, the Amish and Mennonite faiths are very similar.  The differences lie mainly in the outward practice of those beliefs.  But foundational to both groups is their core commitment to faith, family, and community.  In plain communities, man may look at the outward appearance, but for them, it is truly all about the heart.

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It has come to our attention that there is a great deal of confusion in this world regarding not only what a gazebo is, but also what a gazebo isn’t.   These, for example, are not gazebos:

If it can blow away in the wind… it’s not a gazebo.  It’s a tent.

Pergolas also are not gazebos, but they are similar to arbors.  They are often used as support structures for vines and flowers, or as open passageways between buildings and gardens.

As for pagodas, you just won’t find many of them in the United States!  That is, unless you’re headed to the Indy 500…

Photo courtesy The Focus Photography

So what exactly is a gazebo?  Ladies and gentlemen, these are gazebos:

Enjoy our photos?  Check out more shots of our Amish Country Gazebos on our Pinterest boards!

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As the holiday approaches, some Amish families may decorate with greens inside their homes. Christmas cookies and candy will be made in abundance.  Many Amish will also send Christmas cards, particularly to their “English” (non-Amish) friends.

The Christmas program put on by the children of the local one-room schoolhouse is a yearly highlight in the Amish community.  They’ll even invite their English friends and neighbors to attend the festive event! Recitations, singing, plays, and gifts… it’s a fun time for all those involved!

An Amish Christmas dinner will likely consist of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, fruits, a Christmas pudding (cream cheese layered with red and green gelatin), and more. There will also be desserts-a-plenty!  For some Amish however, December 25th is a day of fasting and prayer, and Christmas dinner will occur the following day, on “Second Christmas.”

Second Christmas – the day after Christmas – is when the Amish observe what we might consider a more traditional Christmas.  It is a time for visiting family, small gift exchanges, and enjoying good food and fellowship.

Additionally, some Amish communities will celebrate “Old Christmas” on January 6th.  Always exactly twelve days after Christmas, January 6th is the traditional date of the Three Wise Men visiting Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus.

After Second Christmas, the Amish will continue to host Christmas dinners and parties for their family and friends. Because of the extent of Amish communities – and consequently, the number of invitations to Christmas celebrations – many Amish will celebrate Christmas well into February!

But whether your Christmas celebrations last a few days or a few months, we at Amish Country Gazebos wish you a very Merry Christmas!

The post An Amish Christmas appeared first on Amish Country Gazebos.

Jim Seida / msnbc.com

The Amish use only real wood in their projects – no particle board will ever measure up to the exemplary standards of Amish craftsmanship.  Their almost sole use of pneumatic tools, often run off of diesel generators, has also drawn attention to Amish handiwork.

Tables, cabinets, dressers, bookshelves… if you’re looking for a new piece of wooden furniture, you simply can’t go wrong with Amish carpentry.

Of course, no discussion of Amish woodworking would ever be complete without the mention of a different type of Amish craftsmanship…. the barn raising!  An Amish barn raising is not merely a chance to help a neighbor, it’s a community gathering – some might even call it a party!

At Amish Country Gazebos, we take great pride in the impeccable craftsmanship utilized by our Amish woodworkers. Many have tried to copy an authentic Amish Country Gazebo, but no other company can match our quality or compare with the benefits of selecting one of our gazebos… all of which include a lifetime guarantee!

There’s simply nothing equal to Amish old world craftsmanship or Amish woodworking.  And that’s what makes our gazebos stand apart.

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