February 2: more than just a ground hog looking for its shadow
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The life-sized fiberglass representation of Punxsutawney Phil is one of 40 "Phantastic Phils" in the Pennsylvania hometown of the famed weather prognosticator. Behind the statue is Phil's Burrow, the year-round home of the famous ground hog. The burrow is built in to the city's public library, complete with glass walls, allowing Phil to be viewed both inside and out by visitors to nearby Gobbler's Knob where Phil makes his annual prediction about the end of winter.
Many February 2 celebrations involve food-from tamales to special baked goods. This Ground Hog Day cake was made by a rancher's wife in the Sweet Grass Hills for a celebration at the community church in Whitlash, MT.
Most of my adult life I have looked forward to February 2, Ground Hog Day. Thinking about whether the ground hog will see its shadow (not in Montana since we have no ground hogs) takes me back to my childhood. As kids, on Ground Hog Day, there would be excited speculation on the school playgrounds in southern Illinois whether we would soon be done with winter or if the miserable, wet cold would drag on for six more weeks. In our childish minds the coming of warm weather was dependent on whether the ground hog saw its shadow.
It was not until I was an adult I learned about the religious significance of February 2. Per the "Farmers Almanac" (hard to argue with that longstanding source) the time around February 2 was viewed by the Celtic tribes who inhabited western and central Europe as the "...midpoint of the season when the sun is halfway on its advance from the winter solstice to the spring equinox." Even for pagans, with winter half over, February 2 began a time to celebrate the return of light, especially important to people whose survival was determined in large part by weather and natural phenomena.
In the fifth century the Christian church created a festival that celebrates the time of year when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple 40 days after his birth for his "presentation." This event coincided with February 2 on our modern calendar. Christian believers worshipped Jesus as the light of the world and the pagan seasonal celebrations were abandoned. This new festival featured groups of celebrants marching with candles, welcoming both Jesus, the Light of the World, and the natural return of longer days and more sunshine. By the middle of the 5th century the festival became what Christians now celebrate as Candlemas.
Modern-day celebrations of Candlemas on February 2
Candlemas is celebrated by many Christians (especially Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some mainline Protestant denominations including Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists). The purpose of the celebration is the blessing of candles that believers take out in to the world to share the light of Jesus. How those celebrations are conducted is varied.
In Italy and France part of the celebration of Candlemas includes eating of pancakes. The pancake's role in these celebrations likely dated back to Pope Gelasius I (around 490 AD) who greeted pilgrims arriving in Rome for some of the earliest celebrations of Candlemas by giving them wafers and flatbread. Other traditions began using the golden, round pancakes as a symbol of fertility and prosperity. Farmers would wrap the first pancake they cooked during the celebration around a gold coin and give that pancake to the first poor person they encountered the following year.
I learned that In Mexico El Dia de la Candelaria (Candlemas) is a public holiday with dancing and processions in the streets. The food of choice is tamales, an ancient dish that predates Christianity and is prepared using maize. A pre-Christian legend states that mankind was created from maize. The Christian tradition is that whomever finds the "figurine of Baby Jesus" in their specially prepared cakes served during Epiphany (the celebration of the Magi in early January) must prepare the tamales during Candlemas on February 2.
I spoke with Fr. Michael Schneider, pastor of St. Gabriels Catholic Church in Chinook, about Ground Hog Day how Candlemas is celebrated locally. He explained Candlemas is celebrated during the regular mass on February 2. This year that will be a Friday. Worshipers are encouraged to take candles that have been blessed to their homes and use them during their personal prayer and meditation time. He explained, "There is a 'connectedness' with the candles as they give off heat that rises toward heaven as should our prayers."
The convergence of Candlemas and forecasts about the arrival of spring
By the nature of when Candlemas is celebrated, roughly halfway through the winter season, it was a time when agrarian societies were thinking about spring planting and when farming might begin. Certain conditions were believed to indicate future weather. For example, a sunny day on Candlemas was said to indicate more winter was still ahead.
Put another way: "If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another fight. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won't come again." Sound familiar? It's pretty much what we still attribute to Punxsutawney Phil and his famous cousins around the country, if the ground hog sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter are still to come.
How ever you celebrate February 2, be aware you are likely part of a long history of varied celebrations. And have a Happy February 2!
