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However, long before there was such a thing as Groundhog Day, February 2 was celebrated as Candlemas Day – a day of religious remembrance that over time (like so many other religious days) became increasingly more secular. Candlemas Day supposedly started as a celebration in honor and remembrance of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the Temple 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. This tradition may have European roots and coincides with the Christian holiday of Candlemas, which was about the purification of the Virgin Mary, but also used to indicate That’s because here in the United States and Canada February 2nd – the date of Candlemas – has become something else entirely. Frank Gaertner / shutterstock Candlemas has long been associated with weather predictions. This started with the lighting of candles, a longstanding tradition on Candlemas. Candlemas and the Grundsau Candlemas on 2 February, the 40th day following Christmas, is a Roman Catholic and Protestant observance that celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. Also known as the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Darstellung des Herrn in German), or the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin (Mariä On Candlemas Day, Throw candles away. Candlemas was also a day to eat beans, probably a modification of the pagan custom. The Romans believed beans were sacred to the dead and invoked their presence. The Puritans, of course, disdained Candlemas Day, which they correctly viewed as a pagan tradition. Weather Forecasts PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – Groundhog Day is on Feb. 2, but the yearly tradition of watching a groundhog one day a year is about much more than predicting the timeliness of spring. Punxsutawney Phil emerging from the ground is also about Americans seeing or not seeing the shadow of the oldest known indigenous tribe in the United States. The History of Groundhog Day. The Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day has become most commonly associated with the current celebration, but it’s roots are older than that. The celebration started in Christianity as the day, (February 2nd), when Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. Lutherans, Catholics, and Amish alike kept the tradition, except it became six weeks instead of four, and the groundhog instead of the orthodox badger. That tradition has developed into the Groundhog day we know today. The official lore from the Pennsylvanian Dutch dialect was preserved in 1937 as such: “February second is Groundhog day. The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The annual ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions and was brought to the U.S. by The presentation is 40 days after Christmas. It is also known as Candlemas Day because of the tradition of blessing candles, which we did at the start of our liturgy. Traditionally candles were blessed on this day. In the old calendar, prior to Vatican II, The Presentation of the Lord was also the end of the Christmas season. See how the groundhog became a symbol for predicting seasonal changes in America, rooted in German folklore with a badger — which in turn lead to Groundhog Day. Groundhog day originally came from an old tradition called Candlemas Day that started in the United States in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Most of us know the tradition: on February 2, our old friend the groundhog will emerge from hibernation, come out of his den, and predict whether winter will deliver more cold weather this year. If the groundhog sees his shadow, the story goes, cold weather will persist another few weeks. If not, warm weather is around the corner. If you like the folklore of holidays, you may be interested to So What’s the Connection to Groundhog Day? Candlemas became linked to weather predictions about the end of winter because of an old English poem: If Candlemas be fair and bright, Come winter, have another flight. If Candlemas bring clouds and rain, Go winter, and come not again. The observance of Groundhog Day in the United States first occurred in German communities in Pennsylvania, according to known records. The earliest mention of Groundhog Day is an entry on February 2, 1840, in the diary of James L. Morris of Morgantown, in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, according to the book on the subject by Don Yoder. This was a While May 1 became May Day, and November 1 became All Saints’ Day, the February 1 holiday was pushed to the following day – and would eventually become Groundhog Day. How did Candlemas become Groundhog Day? Do groundhogs live alone? Habits. Groundhogs are solitary creatures, and they spend their summers and falls stuffing themselves and taking naps in the sun. They can eat about a pound of food per sitting. In the winter, they hibernate. Do we have school on Groundhog Day? Is there school on Groundhog’s As one English folk song put it: "If Candlemas be fair and bright / Come, Winter, have another flight; He has a theory for why Groundhog Day became, and remains, so popular in the U.S. Groundhog Day and Candlemas Lore. If Candlemas [February 2] be mild and gay, Go saddle your horses and buy them hay; But if Candlemas be stormy and black, It carries the winter away on its back. Just half your wood and half your hay, Should be remaining on Candlemas Day. On Candlemas Day, The good goose begins to lay. This idea of associating a clear day with an extended winter became a fitting precursor to our modern-day Groundhog Day. As German settlers migrated to America in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought along their folklore, notably that of the hedgehog, which was believed to predict the weather.
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