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In ancient times there were no weathermen. I know that might be hard to believe, but it's true. The ancient people had to predict the weather themselves so they turned to nature to help them, specifically the hedgehog. On St. Brigid's Day, or Candlemas, they would spot those little fellows and determine that if they saw their shadows, more bad weather was in store, but if not, then spring was surely on its way. I doubt that these predictions helped them anymore than they help us today. It doesn't seem to matter, here where I live, whether the groundhog (substituted for the European hedgehog) sees his shadow or not. March seems to be more wintery than January was. By the way, we have our own groundhog: Buckeye Chuck. We can't allow anything from Pennsylvania to be our mascot, don't you know?
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(For a more thorough explanation of the history of Groundhog Day, see Cathi Hassan's blog today.)
Maybe the real sign that spring is on its way is the appearance of these animals in the first place. When hibernating animals start waking up, the days are longer and winter is wanning. Shadow, smadow! Doesn't matter.
But it's still fun, right? I mean, is there any better movie than Groundhog Day?
I had planned ths Groundhog Day blog since I read Celtic Wisdom. but you write it so much better than I do. Love that picture.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I noticed that Buckeye Chuck did NOT see his shadow, even though Phil did. so we only have a month and a half of winter left, right?