Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Candlemas Or Groundhog Day?



If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
English poem (Anon)

  • English fishermen: "When the wind's in the east on Candlemas Day / There it will stick till the first of May."
  • An old German proverb: "The shepherd would rather see the wolf enter his stable on Candlemas Day than the sun"
  • In Scotland: "If Candlemas Day be dry and fair / the half o' winter's to come and mair [more]."



Every year on February 2nd, groundhogs in Canada and the U.S. of A. emerge from burrows to help predict the weather for the coming months. Tradition dictates that if a groundhog sees its shadow, there will be another six weeks of winter. If it does not, that means spring is coming early.

 
In Canada, our celebrity rodent meteorologists: Shubenacadie Sam, in Nova Scotia; Wiarton Willie, in Ontario.  Sadly we lost Balzac Billy in Alberta just days before this year’s Groundhog Day, festivities there have been cancelled.

Source

Ontario's Wiarton Willie, an albino groundhog,  did see his shadow (darn) so it means for us, 6 more weeks of winter.
 
Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam did not see his shadow this morning as he scurried from his tiny shed at a provincial wildlife park northeast of Halifax.



Source

Punxsutawney Phil, the famous America groundhog meteorologist of central Pennsylvania, did not see his shadow this morning.

Source


 SO, the only thing left to do today then is to watch the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray & Andie McDowell.  It's a comedy so with Willie's forecast of more winter, laughter is the only way to deal with the news.  Happy Candlemas or as we say in this part of the world, Happy Groundhog Day, may you not see your shadow ....  oh & for the record, I did not see my shadow this morning.


8 comments:

  1. I can remember when the movie first came out, not having a clue what the title actually meant.

    It's a lovely bright day here today

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  2. Yes, beautiful sunny, crisp day we've had. Hopefully winter will linger longer though, as nature is very confused and everything feels out of kilter.

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    1. Oh, forgot to say the neighbour's daffs survived the (albeit shortlived) snow.

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  3. It's funny as someone on Instagram just now said Spring would be soon because of ground hog day lol xx

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  4. It's definitely been fair and bright so I guess there is winter to come. Not sure what will happen to all these blossoming trees then.

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  5. According to the forecast, we have one more day of unusually warm temperatures and then it's back to winter. I hope Phil is correct; I'd love an early spring.

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  6. fascinating how this idea has travelled

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  7. I have never seen that movie. But I am definitely anxious for spring.

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