February 2 is Groundhog Day in the U.S. and Canada, though probably everybody in the world knows about this weather-predicting custom since the movie “Groundhog Day” (“Und täglich grüßt das Murmeltier”) with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell came out in 1993. But I would bet few know of the German origins of this weather lore day.
What is Groundhog Day?
Every year on February 2 in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, the groundhog named Phil will predict the weather. If he sees his shadow there will be 6 more weeks of winter, if he doesn’t spring is coming. Phil can’t exactly talk but he will communicate with the Groundhog Club members called the Inner Circle (those are the people in top hats and suits) and tell them whether he saw his shadow or not. Ceremoniously, the information is then relayed to us.
Canada has no fewer than five groundhogs looking for their shadows: Balzac Billy, Manitoba Merv, Wiarton Willie, Fred la marmotte, and Schubenacadie Sam. And apparently Nova Scotia has a Lucy the Lobster also weighing in on the arrival of spring.
Weather Lore
Predicting the weather is not a new thing, or a German thing. Knowing what to expect and adjusting your behavior, especially in agriculture, was important during a time when your livelihood depended on your crops. Bauernregeln (farmer’s rules, weather lore) are very common, preferably in rhyme form to help retention. They are based on observations of nature, including animals, passed down through the generations. Most weather proverbs refer to a month or even a specific day in the calendar, like St. Martin’s Day (11/11) or Lichtmess (Candlemas) which brings us to February 2.
Candlemas/Mariä Lichtmess
What is celebrated on Candlemas?
Mariä Lichtmess or Candlemas is celebrated in the Catholic Church on February 2, 40 days after Christmas. It refers to the Jewish belief that a woman is unclean (unrein) for seven days after giving birth and isn’t allowed in the temple for an additional 33 days (double this when she gave birth to a girl). Mary went the temple for a purification ritual which is why Candlemas is also called Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
But this is not the only name by which the day is known for; it is also the Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple (Darstellung des Herrn). While a new mother had to undergo purification (connected with sacrificial gifts of two (turtle)doves, see painting), a firstborn boy was considered God’s possession and therefore had to be brought to the temple to be redeemed by offerings.
Since Christmas used to celebrated on January 6, and still is in the Orthodox churches, Candlemas used to fall on February 14. It stands to reason that when Lichtmess moved to February 2, the vacant spot was taken over by Valentine’s Day.
The meaning of light
Candlemas was first celebrated in the 4th century in Jerusalem and by the 7th century it was an established custom in Rome. There is an overlap with the early Roman Sühneprozession (lustrations, purification by sacrifice) as well as the pagan festival of Imbolc. This Celtic festival was celebrated with a fire at sundown of February 1, as the beginning of spring and new life emerging from the dark of winter. It was believed that the sun made a jump and the days started getting longer.
The focus on light and candles on Mariä Lichtmess is therefore not surprising, and also fits well with the light imagery of the Christmas season (Jesus as the Light of the world) and light/fire/candle as a symbol of purity.
During the Christian services, all candles that will used throughout the year are blessed. People can also bring their own personal candles to have them blessed during the ceremony. Most often those were or are Wetterkerzen (weather candles) which protect the house from thunderstorms and other bad weather. Those candles are usually black and also go by the names Gewitterkerze (thunderstorm), Donnerkerze (thunder), or Schauerkerze (rain shower).
In some parishes, a procession with the blessed candles takes place in reference to Mary’s way to the temple. Sometimes, priests issue a St. Blasius’ blessing against sickness and disease because his feast day is on February 3.
Beginning of a new year
Based on our calendar, the year begins on January 1, but for the people, especially the farmers the more important date was February 2 when the field work began. Farmhands (Knechte und Mägde) were paid and often given the day (or half the day) off. Craftspeople didn’t need artificial light anymore when working, and girls and women stopped their spinning work which had started on St. Martin’s Day, November 11.
Candlemas, forget spinning, eat supper by daylight.
Considering the importance of weather conditions on the field work, passed down weather lore was often helpful for farmers. Sow too early, your crops might die; sow too late, your harvest will be slim. Knowing when to start sowing certain crops was very much dependent on the weather.
As I said before, many farmer’s rules and proverbs are connected to certain days and/or dates, which are often religious in nature and helped structure the year before everybody had a calendar in the house. Because Candlemas is an important date for the Christian church as well as the people, there are plenty of sayings that go with Lichtmess.
For example: “Gibts an Lichtmess Sonnenschein, wirds ein spätes Frühjahr sein” – Is there sunshine on Candlemas, it will be a late spring. Similar to this is the following: If it storms and snows on Candlemas, the spring is not far off; but is it clear and bright, spring won’t be coming fast.
Those sayings are bringing us back to the beginning and the topic of this article: Groundhog Day. The Lichtmess farmer’s rules are basically the same sayings as what groundhog Phil in Punxsutawney predicts. If he sees his shadow, meaning that there is sunshine, it will another 6 weeks of winter. However, if he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.
ist der Frühling nicht mehr weit;
ist es aber klar und hell,
kommt der Lenz noch nicht so schnell.
From hedgehog and badger to groundhog
An American groundhog might make his predictions based on old farmer’s rules which came to North America with European settlers. But the groundhog isn’t even that common in Europe, so why a groundhog?
In Germany (and other European countries), people didn’t only use passed down lore to predict the weather, they also watched how animals behaved. In early spring, they observed hedgehog to see if and when he would wake up from hibernation. The hedgehog turned into a badger in some areas resulting in the following saying “Sonnt sich der Dachs in der Lichtmesswoche, bleibt er 4 Wochen noch im Loche” – Does the badger sun himself during Candlemas week, he’ll stay another 4 weeks in his hole (burrow).
When Germans immigrated into the U.S. in the late 19th century, many settled in Pennsylvania where the weather predicting groundhog lives. They took their weather lore with them, but since hedgehogs and badgers were hard to come by, they decided to have groundhogs help them with telling the weather future.
From that it was only a matter of time, before the predictions of Phil became national news.
Sources and Resources
- Wiki – Groundhog Day – dt
- Wiki – Candlemas – engl
- Wiki – Darstellung des Herrn – dt
- The History Reader
- mrshea.com
- Vivat! Magazin
- Brauchtum.de
