What's so special about Feb. 2?

If the ground hog/wood chuck does not see his shadow he thinks it is spring and stays above ground which means there will only be six more weeks of winter.



Groundhog Day

That's my daughter's birthday. It's also the birthday of the guy I work with.

Harrumph.

Ground Hog Day is the most arrant piece of nonsense ever foisted upon the American public by the folks of Paxatwaney [Sp??], PA. It was meant as an alternative to the Papist notion of Candlemass and the Feast of St. Bridgit, which itself is a corruption of the old Celtic pagan celebration of the demi-goddess Bridie, who was connected with climatic prognostications.

There are few things in heaven or earth for which I have more contempt than the silliness of thikning that a groundhog seeing, or not seeing, his/her shadow will somehow forecast the weather to come. The poor blighter, after a season of abstinence, is no doubt looking for a female groundhog. If he catches her scent, he stays outside, snuffling around to find a mate. If there's no aroma in the air, he goes back to sleep. Simple as that.

The Celts had the right idea. Let the goddess lass decide. And the early Christians, wisely, took up the tradition, duly found a martyr named Bridget to canonize so she could take the place of Bridie, and the whole notion of St. Bridget and Candlemass was off and running.

Harrumph.

We've got Wiarton Willie here. The Canadian counterpart to Phil.
When one of the Willie's died, they had a moment of silence in parliament. sheesh (also known as harrumph).

Aw MA you are such a skeptic. You should believe in all silliness I think silly is what really makes the world go round.

Beth eh are you kidding? Did they really honor Wiarton Willie with a moment of silences?

Joanne -- it isn't just the silliness. It's the corruption of tradition that I object to. When something that was once a sacred belief of our ancestors becomes a bit of kiddie nonsense, it bothers me. It's why I dislike Halloween. I can abide trick-or-treaters, that's not my gripe. But the celebration of Samhain was the begining of the Druidic new year and shouldn't be corrupted into a mawkish and infantile display.

Ground Hog Day is doubly cursed in that one reason for it's invention was, undoubtedly, an anti-Catholic bias.

You win MA I am posting this for you:

The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.

According to an old English song:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

According to an old Scotch couplet:

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be twa (two) winters in the year.

Another variation of the Scottish rhyme:

If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
The half o' winter to come and mair,
If Candlemas day be wet and foul,
The half of winter's gone at Yule.

And there is more history of groundhog day on this link: http://www.groundhog.org/history/tradition.shtml

I am almost afraid to ask, but, Merry, what's your opinion of December 25th?

Perhaps that should be a separate topic 'cuz I could rant for a half a page...

Edgar: My son is also born under tha astrological sign of the groundhog...

As human lives shift so shift the traditions. No use to fight it; it will go on. The slightest thing can institute a permanent change. A minor instance: Few thought of Santa Claus wearing a red suit until Coca Cola ran ads featuring him in red. Now it's almost heresy to portray him otherwise. Or Rudolph. Everyone knows there are eight reindeer pulling that sleigh - except there's Rudolph in the lead, making it nine.

Oh no, edgarblythe say it isn't true. That loveable guy in the red suite was invented by a major soft drink company, sheesh.

Candlemas/Groundhog Day is the midpoint of Winter, halfway between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox.

Ah, Yule. Well, actually, Seal, I don't have too much trouble with the 25th December. (Except, as edgarblythe has pointed out, for the gross caricature of that dolt in a red suit who is no longer either St. Nicholas nor Father Christmas.) Our celebration of Chritmas is a rather strange, but altogether understandable, conflation of the ancient Yule traditions of our pre-Christian ancestors and the story of the birth of Jesus. That the date was selected to celebrate Jesus' birthday is understandable -- the original celevration is to welcome the return of the Sun (Son??). Consequently, the early traditions about Mary (found nowhere in the Bible) are all connected in some way with flowers and first fruits. Almost without exception, every one of our so-called Christmas traditions has a pagan origin. It is a Christianized version of the Saturnalia, the great feast of the Winter Solstice. Now, the only question remaining is why was the 25th of Dec. chosen for the celebration, since -- prior to the institution of the Gregorian calendar -- the Solstice occurred a lot earlier, around the 13th, the Feast of St. Nicholas. The only reasonable answer I've been able to think of is that Hanukah (remember, the earliest Christians were all Jews) comes on the 25th of Kislev in the Jewish calendar.

Merry Andrew,

are you intimating that Christmas as we know it now (hypothetically) was invented by say "Young and Rubican" for a 5th Avenue Department store in NYC?

vai tu smejies?

sg

No, Seaglass, Y&R just gussied it up, is all.

And, no, I ain't laughing.

And don't ask me why not.

How'd a Samoan learn Latvian?

No man drauga kas gaaja bojaa jura. Es raudu vinue atceroties.

Es lauzu rokas.

Ah, you poor thing. A drownded lover, eh? Yes, we Latvian boys get around.

He drowned in Crown Royal (dabs dainty lace hanky to eye and adjusts babuska).

Well... yeah, that's sort of it. Santa wears a red suit because of Coca-cola (did someone point that out already?)

I forget whether it was Rudolph or Frosty that was written for a department store... and don't get me started on either of their television animated info-mercials that they pull out every December.

Bah! Humbug!

I for one don't mind these little changes (Santa red suit, Frosty, etc.) I get lost in the dazzle of the season and play it to the hilt. My wife and I recognize that we cannot splurge our year's pay on holidays and we give frugally. I celebrate Christmas as a time to promote a message of PEACE ON EARTH and Thanksgiving as a time for humble reflection on the past year. I am an atheist, but I love the fun and also the sober messaging as much as anybody could. I want the children to grow up with magical memories out of their childhood, not a Bah! Humbug! in their ear.