Before there was Candlemas, there was Imbolc, a pagan ceremony celebrating the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Celtic beliefs held that during this time certain animals had special powers, such as forecasting the weather. Thus it was people took to watching to see whether snakes and badgers would emerge from their dens. If they did, and if they didn’t immediately return to their dens, it was believed spring would come soon.
When Christianity became more popular, Imbolc transformed into Candlemas Day. Traditionally, Candlemas follows 40 days after Christmas, and is a celebration honoring the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus being presented in the Temple. Early Christians also made it a practice to honor light by having candles blessed, lighting them, and then placing them in each window of their home.
German immigrants brought Candlemas Day beliefs with them to America. One of the old German sayings goes:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May.
An old English variation on the saying is:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
Along with the saying, Germans brought with them the superstition that if a badger cast a shadow on Candlemas Day, winter would be with them for three more weeks. But German immigrants in Pennsylvania substituted a groundhog for a badger.
The Historical Society of Berks County in Reading, Pennsylvania holds the distinction for the first known Groundhog Day reference. A man named James Morris, a storekeeper, noted in his diary on February 4, 1841 that “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”
But Pennsylvania’s first official celebration didn’t take place until 45 years later, on February 2, 1886. They named their groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and dubbed him “Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticators of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.”
Every year since then, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, has held a Groundhog Day celebration. The weeklong hoopla is now carried out on Gobbler’s Knob, and the highlight of the show is Punxsutawney Phil, of course. (According to his official website, Punxsutawney Phil has been in the weather predicting business for over 120 years, thanks to a special “elixir” he imbibes every summer to keep him going.)
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