Origins of Groundhog Day and Candlemas | Merriam-Webster Streets frozen again but no cold such as we have had. There was a brief moment of sunshine on Candlemas Day 2 February but any animal emerging from hibernation would have been lucky to surface at the right moment to see its shadow. One tradition associated with Candlemas is the idea that the weather on Candlemas Day is a predictor of whether winter is nearly over: If Candlemas be fair and bright,Come winter, have another flight;If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,Go winter, and come not again. Hence its title in the Church of Englands 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Purification of Mary the Blessed Virgin. The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus was met by Anna and Simeon. disaster and let's face it, given the frequency of severe storms in February, this is It was a campsite halfway between the Allegheny and the Susquehanna Rivers. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won't come again", is perhaps the best known. Strictly speaking, today isnt Candlemas at all as its not the 2ndyet, but we are now allowed to keep the feast on the closest Sunday. If you have any problems, please let us know. No matter how much things may change, some things remain the same! Imbolc Customs & Lore - Circle Sanctuary Down with the bays and mistletoe; And their firstborn Son was presented in the Temple to God. His department always has a Groundhog Day party, even in perennially-sunny Los Angeles but he says you don't have to be a "marmot enthusiast" (as he describes himself) to get something out of the day. This "interpretation" of Candlemas Day became the norm for most of Europe. The English name, 'Candlemas, refers to the custom of blessing Some people thought that they provided protection against . A Modern Catholic's Guide to Celebrating Candlemas Recommended Archival Collection: Edward Morris Diaries 1851-1887. Simeon, thereby, announced that the Messiah has come not just for the Jew but the gentile; not just the righteous, but the sinner. marked the mid-way point between the Winter candles are thought to have been used as a replacement to move the ritual Delivered to your inbox! The festival is called Candlemas beacuse this was the day that all the Church's candles for the year were blessed. Pop. Germany went a step further by making animals specifically hedgehogs part of the proceedings. The males typically come out first and then begin looking for females with whom to mate. Candles were blessed in church services and then carried around the parish, their light symbolising Christ lighting the way for his followers and harking back to Simeon's words, when he blessed the Christ child and his parents in the temple, recorded in the Gospel of Luke about Christ being "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel". As part of that research, Blumstein spends time on skis, in the snow, waiting for the yellow-bellied marmots to come out from hibernation. An old English song contained the lyrics: If Candlemas be fair and bright, What are the origins of the May Crowning? In the diaries of Edward Morris,Mr. Morris observed on, The Sale of Obscene Pencils in Chance Cove, World Photo Day and Newfoundland and Labrador Collections, Lady Day Fish; August 15th in Newfoundland. Those are the words of an old English poem which helped inspire a tradition that takes place here in the U.S. every Feb. 2, dating back to 1887. It is all completely unreliable, but surprisingly consistent across Europe and North America. Daniel Blumstein is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA who studies marmots, the group of 15 species of large ground squirrels that includes groundhogs. Jews at the time of Jesus, like most cultures, had their own particular laws and customs surrounding child-birth. Candlemas, or the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, is celebrated on 2nd February. In pre-Christian times, it was the festival of light. If Candlemas Day be fair and bright Winter will have another fight. Yay! In Newfoundland there is an established tradition that on this day a blessed candle would be lit and the mother of the household would bless the children in the home with the candle. Candlemas Traditions. "Whether or not there is a predictability of whether it's sunny on Groundhog Day and whether spring comes early or later, I don't know," Blumstein says, adding that Phil's predictions involve "him whispering into people who are wearing stovepipe hats and in front of a drunk crowd, so you can't really trust that.". If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another flight. Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd and dictates that if a groundhog emerges from hibernation to see its shadow, and retreats, six more weeks of winter are ahead. of the Virgin Mary at the same time. Edward Morris was a businessman, politician, and office-holder; born in 1813 at Waterford (Republic of Ireland). And if this saying is true, theres hope for that. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Photographer: Nicholas Mackay Candlemas is the last festival in the Christian If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter is gone and wont come again. But most people in the Church know it as Candlemas. Candlemas: History, Traditions and Crepes! - Building Faith As Candlemas traditions evolved, many people embraced the legend that if the sun shone on the second day of February, an animal would see its shadow and there would be at least six more weeks of winter. Plus, if it is sunny out, marmots are theoretically big enough to cast a shadow by standing up. and distributing candles and carrying them in procession before the mass. If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight. "Maybe it's a good thing for marmots in that you have a longer growing season, but then every day you're active, you also face some risk of predation," he explains. A shadow isn't all that scary. As you can read, there is no mention of an animal of any kind in the preceding song. for the ceremony called the Purification. It makes sense that early February was a good time to prognosticate about the weather, especially as February 2nd marks the midpoint between Winter and Spring. Just to insure that there is enough to get you through the winter. In England, they used a hedgehog as a meteorologist; in Germany, a badger. For this reason, Blessed John Paul II began the custom of keeping the Nativity scene in St. Peters square until Feb. 2. goes:-, "Down with the rosemary, and so If Candlemas be fair and bright, Come, Winter, have another flight; If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Go Winter, and come not again. 26 April Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn, marries Francis Knollys, Tudor and Renaissance Artists and Composers. Saint Sophronius was a bishop of Jerusalem in the early 7thcentury. The procession represents the entry of Jesus as light of the world into the temple. But if it be dark with clouds and rain, winter is gone and will not come again. Copyright The Learn English Network - All Rights Reserved. In the deepest months of winter the sun doesnt touch it at all. Ritual purification stems back to a Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child. So if the bright sun overshadows the brightness of Candlemas Day, there will be more winter. All poems are shown free of charge for educational purposes only in accordance with fair use guidelines. Well, while you try and think of all the different titles for February 2nd, and Ill be amazed if anyone can get all five, Ill start to work my way through them. Grey. Fri, April 28th 2023, 4:03 PM PDT. The fascinating story behind many people's favori Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz! News and views from a couple of retired clergy. So the Presentation is a proclamation of Christ Messiah and Priest, Lord and Savior. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id","a1b60d840fe181a41e8e61828534ddea");document.getElementById("b2348bb89a").setAttribute("id","comment"); John Rogers, the first Protestant martyr of Mary I, http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/worship/the-seasons-at-wells-cathedral/candlemas/. Learn a new word every day. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The Christian festival of Candlemas commemorates the purification of Mary after giving birth, as well as the presentation of Jesus in the temple. the time of year, it was almost impossible to have a bonfire festival and If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again." That was one of several traditions that German settlers in Pennsylvania brought to the U.S., Harman says, along with Christmas trees and the Easter bunny. If someone brings snowdrops into the house on Candlemas day it symbolises a parting or death. Today is Candlemas, when, according to folklore, the weather is supposed to predict the conditions for the rest of the winter: If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight, But However, if the light of Candlemas Day radiates through the gloom and darkness of the day, the end of winter is near. Nice post, the quote out of Sisters on the Edge Of The World was powerful. Many parts of the U.S. and Canada now have their own beloved animal prognosticators, with some of Phil's better-known contemporaries including New York's "Staten Island Chuck" (aka Charles G. Hogg) and Ontario's "Wiarton Willie.". Yes February 2ndis, of course, Groundhog Day! So, what is Candlemas? Candlemas hot or cold is a world of difference. , Sigh after drought ridden summer and fall and early winter with too many years of such things in a row winter as I remember it from childhood/early adulthood, sorta, kinda arrived today bitter cold, snow arrived without the blizzard winds to accompany it but this afternoon? Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. New Englanders who lived in old houses used to watch the cracks and crevices in their walls on February 2. An old English song went as follows: "If Candlemas be fair and bright, / Come, Winter, have another flight. If Candlemas bring clouds and rain, Go winter, and come not again. There is some scientific basis for the Candlemas lore, according to Blumstein. If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. Its high time that winter should be on its way out. If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey, Winter soon will pass away. Photograph: Steve & Ann Toon/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis. He says those massive societal and technological changes spurred a desire to return to what people imagined were simpler times, in the form of things like literary romanticism and gothic revival architecture. In Branch, St. Marys Bay an expression that is particular to Candlemas Day was the expression: Half your prog and half your hay, For instance, if a candle drips on one side when carried in church on Candlemas, this denotes a death of a family member during the year. The club says Groundhog Day is the same today as when it first started if the old-timey garb and scrolls are any sign just with far more participants. We have some of his sermons still, and In a sermon he preached on this feast day, he emphasised this theme of light. "If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another fight. If Candlemas bring clouds and rain, go winter, and come not again." - English folk song If a day to predict the arrival of spring weather sounds familiar, it probably calls to mind Groundhog Day. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won't come again", is perhaps the best known. Traditional For some people, different superstitions. Both rhymes mean that if it is nice on Candlemas Day you can expect six more weeks The Irish have a Gaelic hag who can make 2 February sunny so that she can gather plenty of sticks for her fire for the rest of a long winter. Such verse alludes to the notion of animalshistorically, groundhogs, hedgehogs, badgers, bearsdeciding to end or prolong their winter's sleep according to the weather. And if this saying is true, there's hope for that. The day fine enough but the walking very rough. For my eyes have witnessed your saving deed, displayed for all the peoples to see: A revealing light to the Gentiles, the glory of your people Israel (Lk 2:29-32).