Oh Boy, I Saw My Shadow Today

And so did the groundhog. What that means is that winter is not yet over. And strangely, we had about 3 inches of snow this morning. Groundhog Day always falls on February 2. This traditionally marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. According to legend, if a groundhog sees its shadow on this day, there will be six more weeks of winter; if it doesn’t, then spring is right around the corner.   F.D. R Cottage this morning Of course, this refers to wintry weather conditions. We like to joke, “If he sees his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter; if he doesn’t, it’ll be six weeks till spring” because, of course, the dates of the equinox do not change.  GROUNDHOG DAY MEANING AND ORIGINS Groundhog Day has deeper meaning because it’s speaks to the triumph of spring over winter—and birth over death. Originally, this was a Celtic festival marking the cross-quarter day, or midpoint of the season. Read more about the ancient Celtic calendar. The day was called Imbolc (lambs’ milk) because the lambing season began. It was also called Brigantia for the Celtic female deity of light, calling attention to the Sun’s being halfway on its advance from the winter solstice to the spring equinox. The Christian church later called this festival of light, “Candlemas.” The English name refers to the candles lit that day in churches to celebrate the presentation of the Christ Child in the temple of Jerusalem.