What is the origin of the Groundhog Day tradition?
February 2nd is a “cross-quarter” day in the solar calendar, which means that it falls exactly between a solstice and an equinox. It’s the ancient Celtic celebration of Imbolc, in honor of Brigit, the goddess of fire, poetry, healing, and childbirth. Brigit brings the healing power of the sun back to the world on Imbolc, a day that carries the first promise of spring. Imbolc comes from the Old Irish i mbolg, meaning “in the belly,” because this is the time when ewes became pregnant to deliver spring lambs. The Christians took over the Celtic celebration and made February 2nd into a Christian holiday, Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple exactly 40 days after Christmas. There was a tradition in many European countries of watching animals — especially badgers — to see how they acted on this day. If they returned to their dens, it meant that there was still a long winter ahead. German immigrants in Pennsylvania found that there weren’t a lot of b
“The legend of the Groundhog as a weather prophet came from Europe, along with the immigrants who worked in the coal mines. As the custom went, an astute local news editor tied the legend to the large number of groundhogs in the area of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in the 1800s, and a star was born. Although considered a Northern American holiday by many, Groundhog Day has very deep roots. It evolved out of the the medieval Christian festival of Candlemas which commemorated the purification of Mary after the birth of Christ, and the ancient pagan fertility celebration St. Brigid’s Day (St. Bridget’s Day). Candlemas Day and its pagan predecessor St. Brigid’s Day fall between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and mark the midpoint of winter. It was customary for the Europeans to watch for the the hedgehog to come out of hibernation every February 2nd. As the legend goes, if the the hedgehog saw its shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter weather. If not, spring was around
