Groundhog Day

[icymist]

Groundhog Day is observed every year in North America on February 2 -- the same day that Imbolc, or Candlemas, happens to fall. Despite the seemingly modern aspects of this tradition -- in which a plump, confused-looking rodent is hoisted up in front of a throng of newscasters at the crack of dawn -- there's actually a long and interesting history behind the occasion.

The Greeks believed that an animal's soul was contained in its shadow. Hibernation was a time of spiritual renewal and purification -- an animal that saw its shadow in the spring needed to go back to bed for a while until its misdeeds were expunged.

In England, there's an old folk tradition that if the weather is fine and clear on Candlemas, then cold and stormy weather will reign for the remaining weeks of winter. On the other hand, bad weather at the beginning of February is a harbinger of a milder winter, and an early thaw. There's a poem that says:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
winter has another flight.
When Candlemas brings cloud and rain,
winter shall not come again.

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[Ilsa]

1. Awesome! Thanks for the link and history! nt