February 2, 2010
Punxsutawney Phil
Will Speak To The "Inner Circle"
They In Turn Will Speak To Us...
Sounding Familiar?
So what do you think? Will he see his shadow... would he come out at all without a human interfering with a chance of rain/snow in some parts... I just don't know if I would want to come out of that hole at all knowing that some researcher somewhere is thinking of replacing me with a robot anyway... I think I might just be thinkin, let the humans or the robot figure it out themselves!
But oh nooooo.... what would the newscasters talk about without ole' Punxsutawney Phil... after all hasn't everyone... seen that movie "Groundhog Day" at least once?
OK, let's think about this for a moment of two...
Groundhog Day or Ground hog's Day is a traditional festival celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2.
It was originally a cross-quarter day, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. I have researched this now and found that before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, precession has caused the cross-quarter day to fall four days later. Now aren't you just happy as a critter in snow that you are reading this today? Originally a lovely poem that sounded like this:
In traditional weather lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end.
Now I don't know about you, nor do I know what or where you are living... but for my 2 cents worth, I am hoping with all my might and with my fingers crossed that this little critter will whisper in the ears of the "knowing ones" that warm weather will find its way to us real real soon!
What I find interesting about all of this (which of course began actually with the First Americans you know)... is what self respecting groundhog would not see his shadow and forsake his burrow/home and stay outside on a hunch rather than return to his home, his belongings, T.V., food, family and all that is familiar? This makes absolutely no sense to me!!!
If on the other hand; the most famous groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear (although cold and snowy which of course reflects bright light)_, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks.
OK, maybe it's me... but don't we usually have 6 more weeks of winter in the beginning of February up North? I used to live in the D.C. area and I remember quite well the days of February... actually the days around the "sweetest day, aka Valentines' Day" when flower deliveries were made in the snow and people fussed and cussed and laughed and threw snowballs and made snowmen and slid down hills on shovels when sleighs couldn't be found! Yes, I remember living up North! Honest I do... don't need a groundhog to tell me about the weather, nope... even remember groundhogs too ~ funny looking critters if you ask my opinion!
An alternate theory as to the origins of groundhog day dates back to Native American rituals. You probably knew you could count on me to bring this to your attention didn't you! Some tribes have ceremony with prayer, ritual, dance for the spirits to bring about the spring and the light months... there are others that date way, way way back into the ancient times had even more ancient rituals and beliefs...
Many ancient tribes believed that unless a man's life is paid for by another man's, the majesty of the the ancient nature gods cannot be appeased and weather divination cannot occur.
The usual chosen vessel for sacrifice was the portliest, most well-fed member of the tribe who would be ritually fed during the lean winter months with the choicest foods. (sounding familiar) They believed that the execution of such a portly person would be more pleasing to the immortal gods, who would then grant them the boon of a short winter; which is similar to the biblical tradition of sacrificing a fat lamb or oxen.
The victims neck would be cut and as he died the shaman would ask if he could see his own shadow, and if he saw his shadow, it meant the gods were displeased with the victim and winter would continue for another 3 moons. If he did not see his shadow it meant he was ready to join the gods and winter would be short, giving rise to a long planting and hunting season. Wow... I just had a thought... Perhaps that's were the origin of the "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" expression really came from and what it really means came from! Maybe when the chicken runs literally runs around once its head is chopped off it is looking for its shadow too! You know... to see if the Chicken gods are pleased or not! Now there's a thought I never entertained before and I have wondered why people use that expression from time to time... "now I see it"! And I do know for a fact that when a chicken's head is chopped off they do run around ... so just maybe... oh here I go digressing again!!! hahahaha back to Groundhog day :)
Now I realize that is a much more intense and deep meaning for the now known "groundhog day ceremony" and all those cold folks that will gather in PA for today!Oh yes, by the way... the photo is one that I grabbed from the internet that was featured from years past if anyone was wondering!
The odds are great that ole' Phil or Philamina will see his or her shadow around 7:30 or so... I'm just thinkin' a shadow will be seen ... seems that since the first Candlemas celebrated was Feb 4, 1841 and officially the critter saw his shadow on Feb 2, 1886 ~amazing what we officially proclaim isn't it...
Thousands will wait; they will wrap up; the news will talk about it in the AM, at noon, during the 6:00 news and again at 11pm... the crowds and children will cheer, the bands will play and the joy will fill the air all awaiting the "ones who know" to tell the rest of us what ole' Phil has to say... Will it warm sooner or later, what will our groundhog say? He's going to talk to that "inner circle" and they "they" will tell us... just like the days of the First Americans if you sit with it and think on it a while... The Elders would meet at the long table or council and then speak to the people of the visions or decisions that the animals or spirits had brought to them the things that were important messages for the tribe to know... funny how things are being put into the paws of a groundhog today isn't it?
So on to the history as it is written anyway... who really knows how it may have really been!!!
With the arrival of European explorers and settlers, and the conversion of many tribes into Christianity, the practice of human sacrifice was predictably frowned upon. haha (do ya think?)
In time a fat groundhog came to be sacrificed, with the shaman using his empathic skills to determine if the creature could see its own shadow.
By the late 19Th century and the rise of the Victorian animal cruelty movement, groundhogs themselves were no longer allowed to be sacrificed and the entire ritual was turned into a secular tourist attraction in which Canada came to reside in Wiarton and in the United States, in Punxsutawney.
In western countries in the Northern Hemisphere the official first day of Spring is about six weeks after Groundhog Day, on March 20 or 21.
Now how's that for a little touch of history and lore for Groundhog day 2010?
Thought I might just go ahead and introduce you to some Famous prognosticating groundhogs today!
Punxsutawney Phil ~ found in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Wiarton Willie ~ found in Wiarton, Ontario
Staten Island Chuck ~ found in New York City, New York
General Beauregard Lee, PhD ~ found in Atlanta, Georgia
Malverne Mel and Malverne Melissa~found in Malverne, New York
Brandon Bob found in ~ Brandon, Manitoba
Balzac Billy found in ~ Balzac, Alberta
Shubenacadie Sam of ~ Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
Gary the Groundhog of ~ Kleinburg, Ontario
Spanish Joe of ~ Spanish, Ontario
Sir Walter Wally of ~ Raleigh, North Carolina
Pardon Me Pete of ~ Tampa, Florida
Jimmy the Groundhog of ~ Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Octoraro Orphie of ~ Quarryville, Pennsylvania
And last but not least….
So, with all of this I will tell you, it's going to be in the 70's here today... I'm still in my sweatshirt this morning, coffee in hand... thinking of those bundled up watching and squealing with delight as a man in a tux and tall hat pull a groundhog from his burrow... hmmm and cold it will be!
Did I mention that Kamryn my Godson discovered the joys of sledding yesterday? Yep... right from the top of his Aunt Dot's house to the bottom to where his Grandma lives... straight down to where old Rt 11 and high fast cars run on that road zzziippp fast and quick and the railroad tracks are.... whiiishssh...
HE LOVED IT.... and wouldn't you just know it... He got Mom on that sled! and he and Mom (aka COB) went with wild abandon from the top of Hog Hill down the hill with laughter filling the winds ~ ~ ~ ~ just like I did oh so many years ago... only I was riding on a shovel and it was Granny at the bottom just giggling like mad as I slid right into her at the bottom of that hill!
Healing Heartaches each day that we breathe... excitement, laughter, moments of sheer bliss... even times of scratching our heads and wondering why in the world would we trust the weather or the length of winter to a groundhog or a robot?! hahaha\\\
Before I end for today, I must let you know... Lily the Black bear and the little one are doing well in the den... I was having a bit of continued back pain from my protective pool protective leap of yesterday and was up rather late... so I decided to check in on Lily! As I sat and watched her slumbering I found myself almost being lulled into a restful sleep myself and out of the silence the baby almost made me jump out of my skin ! A cry pierced the quiet so loudly that Magic barked and I jumped and then laughed so loudly that I awoke the rest of the sleeping little tribe... I think I heard the cub actually giggle; perhaps having a dream or something just had amused it in the night ~ ~ ~
No it wasn't my imagination, but it was quite entertaining... Lily must be getting used to the little one's movements and noises and cries in the night, she was not amused and made a "grunt"...
The four-leggeds' didn't seem too amused not nearly as much as I anyway. So I think we will see the little cub move about soon, Lily hasn't bestowed its name yet... more still to come, the wonderes of the world I suppose, folks are still captured by her in her den where it is 9 degrees. Brrr.
www.bear.org . Funny how much they sound like us isn't it, and amazing how much things change and remain the same ... like a chicken running with its head cut off, riding on shovels down hills in the snow; asking animals if the winter will end or stay; looking to the moon for answers and the storm for rainbows while hoping for healing to wash away sorrow... the circle of life continues through random acts of kindness and extended hands and ears that hear and hearts that beat like drums in the night... knowing that it is always darkest just before dawn.... the light months are coming... We are survivors as were our relations and for that I give thanks... And So It Is! Wado ~ ~ ~
Walk In Beauty ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ sled if you can ~ ~ ~ but don't fall on the ice, or take wooden nickles.....
I wish you enough
author of Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss & Life
http://www.healingheartaches.com/
http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/
OK, let's think about this for a moment of two...
Groundhog Day or Ground hog's Day is a traditional festival celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2.
It was originally a cross-quarter day, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. I have researched this now and found that before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, precession has caused the cross-quarter day to fall four days later. Now aren't you just happy as a critter in snow that you are reading this today? Originally a lovely poem that sounded like this:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
In traditional weather lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end.
Now I don't know about you, nor do I know what or where you are living... but for my 2 cents worth, I am hoping with all my might and with my fingers crossed that this little critter will whisper in the ears of the "knowing ones" that warm weather will find its way to us real real soon!
What I find interesting about all of this (which of course began actually with the First Americans you know)... is what self respecting groundhog would not see his shadow and forsake his burrow/home and stay outside on a hunch rather than return to his home, his belongings, T.V., food, family and all that is familiar? This makes absolutely no sense to me!!!
If on the other hand; the most famous groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear (although cold and snowy which of course reflects bright light)_, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks.
OK, maybe it's me... but don't we usually have 6 more weeks of winter in the beginning of February up North? I used to live in the D.C. area and I remember quite well the days of February... actually the days around the "sweetest day, aka Valentines' Day" when flower deliveries were made in the snow and people fussed and cussed and laughed and threw snowballs and made snowmen and slid down hills on shovels when sleighs couldn't be found! Yes, I remember living up North! Honest I do... don't need a groundhog to tell me about the weather, nope... even remember groundhogs too ~ funny looking critters if you ask my opinion!
An alternate theory as to the origins of groundhog day dates back to Native American rituals. You probably knew you could count on me to bring this to your attention didn't you! Some tribes have ceremony with prayer, ritual, dance for the spirits to bring about the spring and the light months... there are others that date way, way way back into the ancient times had even more ancient rituals and beliefs...
Many ancient tribes believed that unless a man's life is paid for by another man's, the majesty of the the ancient nature gods cannot be appeased and weather divination cannot occur.
The usual chosen vessel for sacrifice was the portliest, most well-fed member of the tribe who would be ritually fed during the lean winter months with the choicest foods. (sounding familiar) They believed that the execution of such a portly person would be more pleasing to the immortal gods, who would then grant them the boon of a short winter; which is similar to the biblical tradition of sacrificing a fat lamb or oxen.
The victims neck would be cut and as he died the shaman would ask if he could see his own shadow, and if he saw his shadow, it meant the gods were displeased with the victim and winter would continue for another 3 moons. If he did not see his shadow it meant he was ready to join the gods and winter would be short, giving rise to a long planting and hunting season. Wow... I just had a thought... Perhaps that's were the origin of the "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" expression really came from and what it really means came from! Maybe when the chicken runs literally runs around once its head is chopped off it is looking for its shadow too! You know... to see if the Chicken gods are pleased or not! Now there's a thought I never entertained before and I have wondered why people use that expression from time to time... "now I see it"! And I do know for a fact that when a chicken's head is chopped off they do run around ... so just maybe... oh here I go digressing again!!! hahahaha back to Groundhog day :)
Now I realize that is a much more intense and deep meaning for the now known "groundhog day ceremony" and all those cold folks that will gather in PA for today!Oh yes, by the way... the photo is one that I grabbed from the internet that was featured from years past if anyone was wondering!
The odds are great that ole' Phil or Philamina will see his or her shadow around 7:30 or so... I'm just thinkin' a shadow will be seen ... seems that since the first Candlemas celebrated was Feb 4, 1841 and officially the critter saw his shadow on Feb 2, 1886 ~amazing what we officially proclaim isn't it...
Thousands will wait; they will wrap up; the news will talk about it in the AM, at noon, during the 6:00 news and again at 11pm... the crowds and children will cheer, the bands will play and the joy will fill the air all awaiting the "ones who know" to tell the rest of us what ole' Phil has to say... Will it warm sooner or later, what will our groundhog say? He's going to talk to that "inner circle" and they "they" will tell us... just like the days of the First Americans if you sit with it and think on it a while... The Elders would meet at the long table or council and then speak to the people of the visions or decisions that the animals or spirits had brought to them the things that were important messages for the tribe to know... funny how things are being put into the paws of a groundhog today isn't it?
So on to the history as it is written anyway... who really knows how it may have really been!!!
With the arrival of European explorers and settlers, and the conversion of many tribes into Christianity, the practice of human sacrifice was predictably frowned upon. haha (do ya think?)
In time a fat groundhog came to be sacrificed, with the shaman using his empathic skills to determine if the creature could see its own shadow.
By the late 19Th century and the rise of the Victorian animal cruelty movement, groundhogs themselves were no longer allowed to be sacrificed and the entire ritual was turned into a secular tourist attraction in which Canada came to reside in Wiarton and in the United States, in Punxsutawney.
In western countries in the Northern Hemisphere the official first day of Spring is about six weeks after Groundhog Day, on March 20 or 21.
Now how's that for a little touch of history and lore for Groundhog day 2010?
Thought I might just go ahead and introduce you to some Famous prognosticating groundhogs today!
Punxsutawney Phil ~ found in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Wiarton Willie ~ found in Wiarton, Ontario
Staten Island Chuck ~ found in New York City, New York
General Beauregard Lee, PhD ~ found in Atlanta, Georgia
Malverne Mel and Malverne Melissa~found in Malverne, New York
Brandon Bob found in ~ Brandon, Manitoba
Balzac Billy found in ~ Balzac, Alberta
Shubenacadie Sam of ~ Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
Gary the Groundhog of ~ Kleinburg, Ontario
Spanish Joe of ~ Spanish, Ontario
Sir Walter Wally of ~ Raleigh, North Carolina
Pardon Me Pete of ~ Tampa, Florida
Jimmy the Groundhog of ~ Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Octoraro Orphie of ~ Quarryville, Pennsylvania
And last but not least….
Gypsy, Jeepers, Patches, and Magic
(they pretend to be groundhogs on Feb 2) ~ Tarpon Springs, FloridaSo, with all of this I will tell you, it's going to be in the 70's here today... I'm still in my sweatshirt this morning, coffee in hand... thinking of those bundled up watching and squealing with delight as a man in a tux and tall hat pull a groundhog from his burrow... hmmm and cold it will be!
Did I mention that Kamryn my Godson discovered the joys of sledding yesterday? Yep... right from the top of his Aunt Dot's house to the bottom to where his Grandma lives... straight down to where old Rt 11 and high fast cars run on that road zzziippp fast and quick and the railroad tracks are.... whiiishssh...
HE LOVED IT.... and wouldn't you just know it... He got Mom on that sled! and he and Mom (aka COB) went with wild abandon from the top of Hog Hill down the hill with laughter filling the winds ~ ~ ~ ~ just like I did oh so many years ago... only I was riding on a shovel and it was Granny at the bottom just giggling like mad as I slid right into her at the bottom of that hill!
Healing Heartaches each day that we breathe... excitement, laughter, moments of sheer bliss... even times of scratching our heads and wondering why in the world would we trust the weather or the length of winter to a groundhog or a robot?! hahaha\\\
Before I end for today, I must let you know... Lily the Black bear and the little one are doing well in the den... I was having a bit of continued back pain from my protective pool protective leap of yesterday and was up rather late... so I decided to check in on Lily! As I sat and watched her slumbering I found myself almost being lulled into a restful sleep myself and out of the silence the baby almost made me jump out of my skin ! A cry pierced the quiet so loudly that Magic barked and I jumped and then laughed so loudly that I awoke the rest of the sleeping little tribe... I think I heard the cub actually giggle; perhaps having a dream or something just had amused it in the night ~ ~ ~
No it wasn't my imagination, but it was quite entertaining... Lily must be getting used to the little one's movements and noises and cries in the night, she was not amused and made a "grunt"...
The four-leggeds' didn't seem too amused not nearly as much as I anyway. So I think we will see the little cub move about soon, Lily hasn't bestowed its name yet... more still to come, the wonderes of the world I suppose, folks are still captured by her in her den where it is 9 degrees. Brrr.
www.bear.org . Funny how much they sound like us isn't it, and amazing how much things change and remain the same ... like a chicken running with its head cut off, riding on shovels down hills in the snow; asking animals if the winter will end or stay; looking to the moon for answers and the storm for rainbows while hoping for healing to wash away sorrow... the circle of life continues through random acts of kindness and extended hands and ears that hear and hearts that beat like drums in the night... knowing that it is always darkest just before dawn.... the light months are coming... We are survivors as were our relations and for that I give thanks... And So It Is! Wado ~ ~ ~
Walk In Beauty ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ sled if you can ~ ~ ~ but don't fall on the ice, or take wooden nickles.....
I wish you enough
author of Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss & Life
http://www.healingheartaches.com/
http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/
4 comments:
Ah, yes, GROUNDHOG DAY !
Read your entire blog..........
Just HOW MUCH coffee DID you drink ? lol
IceScream
you need more sleep--just for the record--humans pull the poor groundhog out of his den! sounds to me like 6 more weeks of winter or if you prefer 6 weeks till warm weather.!!! take your pick.............the four leggeds know that sleep is the most important.
Old ground hog should stay in his cave and not come out at all. How could he see his shadow when it was very over cast and no sun at all. I think that man with the big hat on had it pulled down too far on his head. Well where I live there is more snow on the 10in. on the ground and blizzard conditions with 18-??? more snow coming Fri. and Sat.. Enjoy the sun shine in Fl.. LEAVE THE GROUND HOG ALONE.
Leave both the groundhog AND the author alone. Maybe she could not sleep from pain after her brave rescue.
Candlemas - ( or the beginning of Imbolc for some ) I propose we all light a candle tonight to remind us that though we are still in the dark, icy months....we see our personal growth just as the hidden bulbs will emerge from darkness.
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