Notably, several traditions that are part of weather lore use the weather at Candlemas to predict the start of spring. In folk religion, various traditions and superstitions continue to be linked with the holiday, although this was discouraged by the Protestant Reformers in the 16th century. The Germans had a tradition of marking Candlemas (February 2) as "Badger Day" ( Dachstag), on which if a badger emerging from its den encountered a sunny day, thereby casting a shadow, it presaged four more weeks of winter.Ĭandlemas is a primarily Catholic festival but also known in the German Protestant ( Lutheran) churches. The Pennsylvania Dutch were immigrants from German-speaking areas of Europe. Other cities in the United States and Canada also have adopted the event. Grundsow Lodges in Pennsylvania Dutch Country in the southeastern part of the state observe the occasion as well. The Groundhog Day ceremony held at Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania, centering on a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, has become the most frequently attended ceremony. It is related to the lore that clear weather on the Christian festival of Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter. The weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: Dachs) is the forecasting animal. While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. Groundhog Day ( Pennsylvania German: Grund'sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year starting in the 16th century. Announcing whether a groundhog sees its shadow after it emerges from its burrow
0 kommentar(er)
