Culture
The Amish live a very strict lifestyle based on the Ordnung which is a set of rules the Amish must live by or they would be shunned from their community. They have a strong relationship with God and believe in an after-life where they will go to Heaven. A main purpose of the way they live life is to keep one another in their family and community close. Amish marry Amish, no exceptions, divorce is forbidden and separations are rare.
The Amish speak Dutch, German and English. Most settlements are successfully bilingual. Education is taught in English and their prayers are spoken in Dutch.
You are born into the culture and expected to remain a part of it your entire life. The Amish believe that larger families are blessings from God therefore marry around the ages of 18 and 19 and have on average seven children.
Prior to marriage men must be freshly shaven. When men do marry they are required to grow a beard. Amish women never cut their hair and wear it in a braid or bun on the back of their head. They also wear a small white cap or black bonnet as a form of obedience to the Bible teachings.
Modern-day technology is forbidden. They restrict any technology which they feel weakens the family structure. Most Amish harvest their fields with horse-drawn machinery, live in houses without electricity, and get around in horse-drawn buggies. Its not that they despise technology. It just goes against their religion. It is common for Amish communities to allow the use of telephones, but not in the home. Instead, several Amish families will share a telephone in an area between farms but no cell phones, internet or television. In farming they use some modern ways instead of the old ways. For example, they have electric fences to keep the cattle in the farm. It is also not unusual to see Amish using such 20th-century conveniences like skates, disposable diapers and gas barbecue grills, because they are not specifically prohibited by the Ordnung.