On February 2nd, we will celebrate a day commonly known as "Groundhog Day". With all our weather technology available today, the "luster" of this day has perhaps lost some of its appeal, yet, like so many other of our holiday traditions, its origin goes many centuries back.....
The winter season during the Dark Age and into the late Middle ages were often defined as a time of survival, a dark time where Evil seem to haunt the earth with the shortened days and long nights. This was particularly true in the northern European continent as well as the general western northern hemisphere.
Like many of our holiday origins, the basis of these celebrations were of agricultural motives, the hope of good crops yield for the new year, and plenty of food to endure the harsh winter months.
The cold and blustery winters kept people within the confines of their homes, and with darkness being so prevalent, fear often captivated the hearts and minds of various cultures.
Even into the latter part of the 1800's this "winter fear" was prominent in stories like "Jack the Ripper" or the novels of Edgar Allen Poe such as "The Raven".
Actually it was this survival of the winter that wrecked havoc among the various northern cultures. As Christianity spread across the continents, many ancient pagan beliefs that were celebrated to encourage others to keep their hopes on Spring and the arrival of "new life", were turned into a more Christian format...like Christmas and even Halloween.
People simply did not survive the cold winters, historians claiming the average of life being approximately 35 years in both the Dark and Middle age period. Many deaths were children, usually before the age of 5, due to various diseases that were present during the time.
Death did not come simply because a person could not cope with the dreaded temperatures and heavy snow, death was often a result of economic conditions and malnutrition.
The peasant population lived during the winter months on bread as a main staple, and even the grain used for making bread was not of a high quality. Fruits and vegetables were often exhausted before the winter concluded, and as a result malnutrition often affected the many...especially those who were poor, and their immunities against diseases were drastically reduced. As a result, sicknesses became prevalent...as the winters tarried on.
So...what does this have to do with Groundhog Day?
On February 2nd, there is a Christian celebration known as "Candlemas Day". It's origins date back to the late 5th century A.D. It was a day when the clergy (priests) would bless candles and many would form a long procession with lit candles...taking them to their homes and putting these lit candles in their windows. The purpose was two-fold: 1) to ward off the Evil that prevailed during the dark and gloomy season known as "Winter", and 2) to bring hope and the arrival of Spring...a time of new birth, and a time of warmth!
The Roman Catholic church referenced Saint Luke 2:22-40 as the reason for this event. It was a tribute to the Light of God's Glory...in Christ Jesus. In the Scriptures it is written of the time Simeon the priest and Anna the prophetess beheld the infant Jesus at the Temple...."A Light for the Gentiles...".
From this mid-winter celebration, came ways to predict the coming of Spring, and end the perils of winter.
Different cultures has little sayings when the candles were blessed and lit on Candlemas Day:
Old English: " If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, winter will not...return again."
Scottish: " If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there will be two winters in the year."
Germany: "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far the snow will swirl until May. If the snow blows on Candlemas Day, the sun will shine..before May."
American: "If the sun shines on Groundhog Day, 1/2 the food...and 1/2 the hay." ( In other words, you would need twice the amount you had already used...to survive the winter).
Ok...this is going to take a little more thought than I thought...I'm going to have a "part 2".
The winter season during the Dark Age and into the late Middle ages were often defined as a time of survival, a dark time where Evil seem to haunt the earth with the shortened days and long nights. This was particularly true in the northern European continent as well as the general western northern hemisphere.
Like many of our holiday origins, the basis of these celebrations were of agricultural motives, the hope of good crops yield for the new year, and plenty of food to endure the harsh winter months.
The cold and blustery winters kept people within the confines of their homes, and with darkness being so prevalent, fear often captivated the hearts and minds of various cultures.
Even into the latter part of the 1800's this "winter fear" was prominent in stories like "Jack the Ripper" or the novels of Edgar Allen Poe such as "The Raven".
Actually it was this survival of the winter that wrecked havoc among the various northern cultures. As Christianity spread across the continents, many ancient pagan beliefs that were celebrated to encourage others to keep their hopes on Spring and the arrival of "new life", were turned into a more Christian format...like Christmas and even Halloween.
People simply did not survive the cold winters, historians claiming the average of life being approximately 35 years in both the Dark and Middle age period. Many deaths were children, usually before the age of 5, due to various diseases that were present during the time.
Death did not come simply because a person could not cope with the dreaded temperatures and heavy snow, death was often a result of economic conditions and malnutrition.
The peasant population lived during the winter months on bread as a main staple, and even the grain used for making bread was not of a high quality. Fruits and vegetables were often exhausted before the winter concluded, and as a result malnutrition often affected the many...especially those who were poor, and their immunities against diseases were drastically reduced. As a result, sicknesses became prevalent...as the winters tarried on.
So...what does this have to do with Groundhog Day?
On February 2nd, there is a Christian celebration known as "Candlemas Day". It's origins date back to the late 5th century A.D. It was a day when the clergy (priests) would bless candles and many would form a long procession with lit candles...taking them to their homes and putting these lit candles in their windows. The purpose was two-fold: 1) to ward off the Evil that prevailed during the dark and gloomy season known as "Winter", and 2) to bring hope and the arrival of Spring...a time of new birth, and a time of warmth!
The Roman Catholic church referenced Saint Luke 2:22-40 as the reason for this event. It was a tribute to the Light of God's Glory...in Christ Jesus. In the Scriptures it is written of the time Simeon the priest and Anna the prophetess beheld the infant Jesus at the Temple...."A Light for the Gentiles...".
From this mid-winter celebration, came ways to predict the coming of Spring, and end the perils of winter.
Different cultures has little sayings when the candles were blessed and lit on Candlemas Day:
Old English: " If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, winter will not...return again."
Scottish: " If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there will be two winters in the year."
Germany: "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far the snow will swirl until May. If the snow blows on Candlemas Day, the sun will shine..before May."
American: "If the sun shines on Groundhog Day, 1/2 the food...and 1/2 the hay." ( In other words, you would need twice the amount you had already used...to survive the winter).
Ok...this is going to take a little more thought than I thought...I'm going to have a "part 2".
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