1 post tagged “groundhog”

A site I use a lot: "Daily German Word of the Day" (http://german.about.com/library/blbraeuche_feb.htm) has this to say about it:

Groundhog Day - Mariä Lichtmess (2. Februar)

The American tradition of Groundhog Day has roots going back to Germany and other European countries. February 2 has long been the date of a religious observance known as Candlemas, or Mariä Lichtmess in German. The following Bauernregeln are also related to the second day in February:

At least as early as the 1840s, German immigrants in Pennsylvania had introduced the tradition of weather prediction that was associated with the hedgehog (der Igel) in their homeland. Since there were no hedgehogs in the region, the Pennsylvania Germans adopted the indigenous woodchuck (a name derived from an Indian word), aka the groundhog. The town of Punxsutawney, some 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, has played up the custom over the years and managed to turn itself into the center of the annual Groundhog Day, particularly after the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Each year, people gather to see if a groundhog dubbed "Punxsutawney Phil" will see his shadow after he emerges from his burrow. If he does, the tradition says there will be six more weeks of winter. (Phil has a rather dismal 39% rate of accuracy for his predictions.)

A similar German legend is connected with St. Swithin's Day (Siebenschläfer, 27 June), for which tradition says that if it rains on that day, it will rain for the next seven weeks. But the Siebenschläfer is a dormouse, not a hedgehog.

In Germany, the day has also been known as Mariä Reinigung, das Fest der Darstellung des Herrn and Mariä Kerzenweihe. The latter name (Kerze = candle) is related to the English "Candlemas" name and the tradition of blessing both sacred and household candles on Feb. 2. Up until 1912, Mariä Lichtmess was an official holiday in Germany. The Roman Catholic church has celebrated the feast day of Candlemas since 1960.

"Darstellung" = Presentation

Some stuff from Wikipedia about Candelmas:

The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (also known as Candlemas or Feast of the Purification of the Virgin) celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, the Presentation is a feast celebrated on 2 February and is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante (lit., 'Meeting'). In many Western liturgical churches, Evening Prayer (or Night Prayer) on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season. In the Church of England, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) is a Principal Feast celebrated either on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February. In some Protestant churches, the feast is known as the Naming of Jesus.

Within the Catholic Church, since the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, this feast has been referred to as the Feast of Presentation of the Lord, with references to candles and the purification of Mary de-emphasised in favor of the Prophecy of Simeon the Righteous.

Its formal name is either the festival of the Purification of the Virgin (especially in the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church), or the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (especially in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church).

The event is described in the Gospel of Luke 2:22–40. According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to dedicate him to God, in line with Jewish law of the time.

Upon bringing Jesus to the temple, the family encountered Simeon; the gospel records that Simeon had been promised "he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord." (Luke 2:26) Simeon prayed the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, and prophesied regarding Jesus.

Modern Pagans believe that Candlemas is a Christianization^{[citation needed]} of the Gaelic festival of Imbolc, which was celebrated in pre-Christian Europe (and especially the Celtic Nations) at about the same time of year. Imbolc is called "St. Brigid's Day" or "Brigid" in Ireland, Scotland and Great Britain. Both Brigid the Goddess and Brigid the saint are associated with sacred flames, holy wells and springs, healing and smithcraft. Brigid is a virgin, yet also the patron of midwives.

In Irish homes, there were many rituals centered around welcoming Brigid into the home. Some of Brigid's rituals and legends later became attached to the Christian Saint Brigid, who was the Abbess of Kildare and seen by Celtic Christians as the midwife of Christ and "Mary of the Gael". In Ireland and Scotland she is the "foster mother of Jesus." The exact date of the Imbolc festival may have varied from place to place based on local tradition and regional climate. Imbolc is celebrated by modern Pagans on the eve of February 2, at the astronomical midpoint, or on the full moon closest to the first spring thaw. Many Neopagans also call their version of the festival "Candlemas".

Some Christians counter that there is no evidence that this Gaelic festival was at all widespread, and no reasonable explanation for a small local Gaelic commemoration making it's way to Jerusalem by the 4th Century.

"Down with the rosemary, and so

Down with the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"

— Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"

As the poem by Robert Herrick records, the eve of Candlemas was the day on which Christmas decorations of greenery were removed from people's homes; for traces of berries, holly and so forth will bring death among the congregation before another year is out. Another tradition holds that anyone who hears funeral bells tolling on Candlemas will soon hear of the death of a close friend or relative; each toll of the bell represents a day that will pass before the unfortunate news is learned.

In the British Isles, good weather at Candlemas is taken to indicate severe winter weather later. It is also the date that bears emerge from hibernation to inspect the weather as well as wolves, who if they choose to return to their lairs on this day is interpreted as meaning severe weather will continue for another forty days at least. In the United States and Canada, Candlemas evolved into Groundhog Day celebrated on the same date.

The Carmina Gadelica, a seminal collection of Scottish folklore, refers to a serpent coming out of the mound on Latha Fheill Bride, as the Scots call Candlemas. This rhyme is still used in the West Highlands and Hebrides.

Moch maduinn Bhride, Thig an nimhir as an toll; Cha bhoin mise ris an nimhir, Cha bhoin an nimhir rium.

(Early on Bride's morn, the serpent will come from the hollow I will not molest the serpent, nor will the serpent molest me)

Thig an nathair as an toll, la donn Bride Ged robh tri traighean dh' an t-sneachd air leachd an lair.

(The serpent will come from the hollow on the brown day of Bride Though there should be three feet of snow on the flat surface of the ground) (Cometary links? I'm sure Mike Baillie would see them)

The feast is also known as Candlemas or the Purification of the Virgin, as it also celebrates Mary's return to ritual purity after giving birth, in accordance with the prescriptions of Mosaic law.

February 2nd is also when Mercury appears to go backwards, due to some peculiarity in its orbit vis-a-vis Earth's (not so, I'm afraid - It's the case for 2009, but in fact the retrograde periods migrate through the year DB 03 Nov '09). Note that in astrology Mercury governs Virgo.

Thinking about "6 more weeks of winter" - that's very close to 40 days, with implications for Lent & Palm Sunday.