Happy Marmota Monax Day
Yes sirre Bob,Today is that day where we trust the ever beloved prognosticator His Majesty, Punxsutawney Phil to clue us in on whether there will be 6 more weeks of weather or not. There is debate over whether Punxsutawney Phil is the one true and official groundhog weather being and all I can say is this tradition has been happening since the 1800's and the first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made February 2, 1887. Who is gonna argue with something that old? It is rumored that Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking "groundhog punch," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.
According to Earth and Sky, This is really an astronomical holiday: one of the year's four cross-quarter days. Each cross-quarter "day" actually represents a collection of dates more or less midway between a solstice and an equinox. February 2 is the year's first cross-quarter day.
Groundhog Day in America stems from an earlier tradition, that of Candlemas in Europe. It was the custom for early Christians to have their clergy bless candles on this day and then pass them out. Consider this old English rhyme:
"If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another flight.
But if it be dark with clouds and rain, winter is gone and will not come again."
or the old Scotch couplet:
"If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be twa (two) winters in the year."
Does he or doesn't he, that seems to be the question of the day and shortly we will have Phil's answer to perhaps the most important question of the day: Can I put that snow shovel and rock salt away yet?
Update: Don't get the bathingsuit and shorts out just yet, we are gonna have 6 more weeks of winter. Grrrr!
Oh and here is some important info: It's supposed to be bad luck to leave your Christmas decorations up after today. That would explain a couple bad years my family suffered through-geesh- maybe I'd better do a quick run through and make positive I have everything put away. May all your candles be burn brightly this day!
|