The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-02-08


Sunday the ground hog came forth,
'spose,
From his secluded den in the ground:
He strained his optics, with turned up
nose.
But not "A ray of sunlight found.
Had he seen his shadow he'd been aw-
full mad,
For It's claimed its one of his freaks,
To have sneaked to his hole disguised,
sad.
And stayed there another six weeks
Whether he would or wouldn't, we
don't know: a newspaper reporter isn't
supposed to know everything if he
did, he wouldn't publish it. But ira
dition says that if that wOOdchuck
had seen his shadow" on Candlemas
day. be would have gone back into his
hole and slept another six weeks
that we would have had six weeks
cold weather But all through the day
on Sunday not a ray of sunshine glad
dened the earth~-the sun was closely
yelled by IA foggy, soggy atmosphere,
and never showed his face for second.
Now we are going to investigate
this thing. We are going to cypher 1t
down fine. and find out whether that
"woodchuck" knows more than the
weather bureau. If he does, he'll re-
tain our unbOunded respect, for some
how we've lost faith in the bureau.
But we don't want to be unreason-
able, nor bind that "woodchuck" with
"a cutthrOat mortgage on his reputa-
ton for deciding, or prophesying on
the weather. We don't expect to see
roses in full bloom in the next six
weeks. nor sell our coal shed in antic-
ipation Of an early heated term, with
mosquitoes filling the house during
the month of March. But if that
wOodchuck is lying, and the next six
weeks are cold enough to satisfy an rs
quimauX. that four-legged weather
prophet will have to 60 to the rear,
minus his traditional superiority as Il
weather flag.
February I'd is known in the church
as CandlemaS day, or the Feast Of the
Publication of the Virgin: and is said
to have been so appointed as feast
by Pope SergiuS, about 6s3-Over 1900
years ago. For ages before that it was
a day for eXpiatory sacrifices by the
Romans: aud. as CandlemaS day, it is
but another example of the way n
which the primitive church, instead
of abolishing days of feaSting and
fasting, with which the people were
familiarin pagan times, adopted them,
but conSecrated them to Christian
ling purposes. Even the candles OF
heather days were retained and car
ried in the Christian procession. He
shall be a light to Tighten the Gen
tiles" was typical reference to that
saying of the aged Simeon to Christ
in the Temple. The custom. known
to churchmen as the 'churching OF
women" was. in the old days, a famil-
lar ceremony on Candlemas day-de-
rived from the old Jewish custom OF
the publication Of the childbirth.
The JeweSS offered a sacrifice Of two
turtle-doves and two grown pigeons:
but the Christian woman substituted
candles.
How far back the weather superStl-
ton runs no man can tell. Every
people in Europe, at all ages, had a
ScOtchman of to-day:
If Candlemas he fair and clear.
There'll be two winters in the year.
All nations had its typical ground
hog; even the negroes of the Southern
States brought it from Africa and be-
lieve in it implicitly: and it is little
singular that the myth should appear
simultaneously on their continent. 1t
probably had its origin in the fact
that pleasant weather in February i
likely to be followed by chilly spring
another fact that was the origin OF
OF a months in the year,
Curse on fair Februeer,
and other sympathetic saws.