Rumspringa
Encyclopedia
Rumspringa Pronounced A- (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the German term "herumspringen" or short "rumspringen" (meaning "jumping around") and the Pennsylvania German
Pennsylvania German language
The Pennsylvania German language is a variety of West Central German possibly spoken by more than 250,000 people in North America...

 term "Rond Springen" or "running around") generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

, a subsect of the Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....

 Christian movement, that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 within the Amish church or instead leaves the community. The vast majority choose baptism and remain in the church. Not all Amish use this term (it does not occur in John Hostetler's extended discussion of adolescence among the Amish), but in sects that do, Amish elders generally view this as a time for courtship and finding a spouse.
Wenger Mennonites youth go through a period of rumspringa between ages 16 and 18. It is sometimes referred to as a period to "sow wild oats."

Popularized view

As is the case in many societies, Amish adolescents may engage in rebellious behavior, resisting or defying parental norms. In many cultures, enforcement may be relaxed, and misbehavior tolerated or overlooked to a degree. A view of rumspringa has emerged in popular culture that this divergence from custom is an accepted part of adolescence or a rite of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....

 for Amish youth. Among the Amish who use this term, however, rumspringa simply refers to adolescence. During that time a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising and is not severely condemned (for instance, by Meidung or shunning
Shunning
Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or mental rejection. Social rejection is when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all...

). Adults who have made a permanent and public commitment to the faith would be held to the higher standards of behavior defined in part by the Schleitheim
Schleitheim Confession
The Schleitheim Confession was the most representative statement of Anabaptist principles, endorsed unanimously by a meeting of Swiss Anabaptists in 1527 in Schleitheim . The meeting was chaired by Michael Sattler. Michael Sattler was the leader of the Swiss and southern German Anabaptist movement...

 and Dordrecht
Dordrecht Confession of Faith
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on April 21, 1632...

 confessions. In a narrow sense the young are not bound by the Ordnung
Ordnung
The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish and Old Order Mennonite living. Ordnung is the German word for order, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church government, each assembly is autonomous and is its own governing authority...

because they have not taken adult membership in the church. Amish adolescents do remain, however, under the strict authority of parents who are bound to Ordnung, and there is no period when adolescents are formally released from these rules. It is in fact the period when the young person is regarded as having reached maturity, and is permitted to attend the Sunday night "sings" that are the focus of courtship among the Amish; according to Amish sources, a youth who dares to attend one of these events before reaching the age of sixteen might be forcefed warm milk from a spoon, as a good-natured reminder to observe the lines of status.

A minority of Amish youth do diverge from established customs. Some may be found:
  • Wearing non-traditional clothing and hair styles (referred to as "dressing English")
  • Driving vehicles other than horse-drawn vehicles (for communities that eschew motor vehicles)
  • Not attending home prayer
  • Drinking and/or using recreational drugs
  • Engaging in pre-marital sex


Not all youth diverge from custom during this period; approximately half in the larger communities and the majority in smaller Amish communities remain within the norms of Amish dress or behavior during adolescence.

Leaving the community

Some Amish youth do indeed separate themselves from the community, even going to live among the "English", or non-Amish North Americans, experiencing modern technology and perhaps even experimenting with sex, alcohol and illegal drugs. Their behavior during this time represents no necessary bar to returning for adult baptism into the Amish church. Most of them do not wander far from their family's homes during this time, and large numbers ultimately choose to join the church. However this proportion varies from community to community, and within a community between more and less acculturated Amish. For example, Swartzendruber Amish have a higher retention rate than the New Order Amish within the Holmes County, Ohio
Holmes County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,943 people, 11,337 households, and 9,194 families residing in the county. The population density was 92 people per square mile . There were 12,280 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

 community. This figure was significantly lower as recently as the 1950s. Desertion from the Amish community is not a long-term trend, and was more of a problem in the early colonial years.

Variations

As among the non-Amish, there is variation among communities and individual families as to the best response to adolescent misbehavior.

In some cases, patience and forbearance prevail, and in others, vigorous discipline. Far from an open separation from parental ways, the misbehavior of young people during the rumspringa is usually furtive, though often collective (this is especially true in smaller and more isolated populations; the larger communities are discussed below). Groups of Amish adolescents may meet in town and change into "English" clothing, and share tobacco, alcohol and marijuana; girls may put on jewelry and cosmetics. They may or may not mingle with non-Amish in these excursions. The age is marked normatively in some Amish communities by allowing the young man to purchase a small "courting buggy," or — in some communities — by painting the yard-gate blue (traditionally meaning "daughter of marriageable age living here"; the custom is noted by A.M. Aurand in The Amish (1938), along with the reasonable caution that sometimes a blue gate is just a blue gate). There is some opinion that adolescent rebellion tends to be more radical, more institutionalized (and therefore in a sense more accepted) in the more restrictive communities.

The nature of the rumspringa period differs from individual to individual and from community to community. In large Amish communities like those of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

, Logan
Logan County, Ohio
Logan County is a county in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,858. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans in the area....

, Hardin
Hardin County, Ohio
Hardin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,058. Its county seat is Kenton and is named for John Hardin, an officer in the American Revolution.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Wayne
Wayne County, Ohio
Wayne County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, and is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. As of the 2010 census, the population was 114,520. Its county seat is Wooster....

, and Holmes Counties, Ohio
Holmes County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,943 people, 11,337 households, and 9,194 families residing in the county. The population density was 92 people per square mile . There were 12,280 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

, and Elkhart
Elkhart County, Indiana
Elkhart County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. Much of the county is in the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area...

 and LaGrange Counties, Indiana
LaGrange County, Indiana
LaGrange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana and in the Northern Indiana region known as Michiana. As of 2010, the population was 37,128. The county is located about east of South Bend, west of Toledo, Ohio, and northeast of Indianapolis. The area is well known for its large...

, the Amish are numerous enough that there exists an Amish youth subculture. During the rumspringa period, the Amish youth in these large communities will join one of various groups ranging from the most rebellious to the least. These groups are not necessarily divided across traditional Amish church district boundaries, although they often are. In many smaller communities, Amish youth may have a much more restricted rumspringa period due to the smaller size of the communities. Likewise, they may be less likely to partake in strong rebellious behavior since the anonymity offered in the larger communities is absent.

Wenger Mennonites youth go through a period of rumspringa between ages 16 and 18. They typically do not get into the type of serious offenses of the most 'disorderly' of the Amish groups.

Etymology

Rumspringa, "running around" in Pennsylvania German, is a contraction of rum, an adverb meaning "around" (also used as a separable prefix as in the case of rumspringe), and the verb springen, meaning "to jump" or "to skip."

The word rumspringa is closely related to the standard German word herumspringen for 'jumping around'. Omitting the he syllable leaving only the rum is widely accepted both in colloquial Pennsylvania Dutch German and in colloquial Standard German, and does not change the meaning of the prefix. The modern German word springen means "to jump"; herumspringen in this sense would mean something like "hopping around." In Swiss German
Swiss German
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...

 as in some German dialects, springen however does — besides meaning "to jump" — also mean "to run". In modern German "to skip" would rather be translated with the verb hüpfen.
Apart from the word's similarity to the German herumspringen, it also bears close resemblance to the standard Dutch verb rondspringen which could equally be translated as "jumping around".

Media coverage

Rumspringa is the subject of numerous media projects.

Rumspringa is the subject of the book Amish Snow by Roger Rheinheimer, which chronicles Ezra Neuenschwander’s rocky journey from victim of an abusive Amish home life to successful businessman. Rumspringa is also the subject of the film documentary Devil's Playground (2002), which was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary and for three documentary Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

s: Best Documentary, Editing, and Direction. Spin-offs from Devil's Playground include a book of transcribed interviews, titled Rumspringa: To Be Or Not To Be Amish, and a UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

 reality television series Amish in the City
Amish in the City
Amish in the City is an American reality television series by Stick Figure Productions and UPN...

.

In "Rumspringa" (September 25, 2003) — season 5, episode 9 of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 television show Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

 — Amy must make a difficult decision when an Amish teenager, who becomes pregnant during rumspringa and decides to return to her community with her daughter, is sued by the child's "English" father for sole custody. Amy was forced to choose between the father's never seeing his child again and the mother's being shunned by her family.

In "Running Around" (October 7, 2007) — episode 96 (season 5, episode 3) of the CBS television show Cold Case
Cold Case (season 5)
Season five of Cold Case, an American television series, began airing on September 23, 2007 and concluded on May 4, 2008. Season five regular cast members include Kathryn Morris, Danny Pino, John Finn, Thom Barry, Jeremy Ratchford and Tracie Thoms...

 — the team reopens the 2006 case of an Amish girl who was murdered while she was in Philadelphia experiencing rumspringa. The investigation reveals four extremely different reactions to the experience: Those of the three Amish teens involved in the investigation (Anna, Rachel, and Jakob), and the ideal experience described by Amy's mother, which Amy's younger sister (Sarah) embarks on at the episode's conclusion.

In the film Sex Drive
Sex Drive (film)
Sex Drive is a 2008 sex comedy film about a high school graduate who goes on a cross-country road trip to hook up with a girl he met online. It is based on the novel All the Way, by Andy Behrens. The film was directed by Sean Anders, and stars Josh Zuckerman, Clark Duke, Amanda Crew, and Katrina...

(2008), young Amish participating in Rumspringa are portrayed as an equivalent to stereotyped college spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...

-goers, partaking in heavy drinking, partying, club dancing, and sexual activity despite never leaving their communities or changing into "English" clothing while partaking in these behaviors.

In "The Plain in the Prodigy" (October 1, 2009) — episode 87 of the FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 television show Bones
Bones (season 5)
The fifth season of the American television series Bones premiered on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010, on the Fox Network. The show maintained its previous time slot, airing on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET for the entire season...

(season 5) — Booth and Brennan investigate the death of Levi Yoder, a member of an Amish community whose bones are scattered along a railroad track. Booth and Brennan learn that Yoder was a brilliant pianist, and hypothesize that his talent may have contributed to his death.

In 2010, the British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 broadcast a television documentary series entitled The Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers focusing on 5 young Amish who traveled to the United Kingdom during their Rumspringa in order to participate in an arranged cultural exchange. In each episode the group stayed with British families of different socio-economic strata, living in turn on a South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 Council Estate, the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 countryside and even staying at a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 hunting estate. During their visit, they were introduced to diverse and unfamiliar things, including sex shops, street dance, single mothers, stabbing and street violence, rock music, beach parties, game shooting and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

. The first episode of the four episode series aired on July 25, 2010.

The Spike channel show, 1,000 Ways to Die which investigates supposed unusual death, showcases a young man going through Rumspringa that goes to a party and gets drunk. He ends up dying because he was born without
Inborn error of metabolism
Inborn errors of metabolism comprise a large class of genetic diseases involving disorders of metabolism. The majority are due to defects of single genes that code for enzymes that facilitate conversion of various substances into others...

 the enzyme that aids in breaking down alcohol
Alcohol dehydrogenase
Alcohol dehydrogenases are a group of dehydrogenase enzymes that occur in many organisms and facilitate the interconversion between alcohols and aldehydes or ketones with the reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide...

.

In the Tony nominated musical Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture is a musical with a book written by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan and music by various composers. It ran Off-Broadway in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2010...

, Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. She is a co-founder of Grammy winning Sh-K-Boom Records and Ghostlight Records and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays appears on numerous solo and original cast recordings.-Life and career:Scott was...

mentions her Mennonite upbringing and Rumspringa in the opening of the show.
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