Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1901-01-31
GrOundAg Day.

If the grounding knows anythiRg
about it, and it is generally conceded
that he does, we willie able to
prophecy with some degree OF accur-
acy on Saturday the length of Wiscon-
sin winter yet before US. The little
rascal is due to come forth from his
burrow on the 2nd day in February
each year, shake the kinks from his
anatomy and look for his shadow.
If he sees it he returns to his den for
another six weeks of sleep and we are
to be the recipients of six weeks more
frigid weather; but if his shadow he
fails to see then spring is not Tar
away and he remains above ground
with no fear of severe weather.
This second day of the second
month of the year, for many genera
tions and throughout many countries
of the earth, has had the credit OF eA-
excisng potent influence upon the
weather The ability Of the ground
hog to know it from any other day in
the calendar is not precisely under
stood; but any who may doubt it can
not thereby dodge the power Of the
2nd Of February. Skepticism a. to
the woodchuck still has to deal with
the ancient Scotch representation;
If Candlemas is fair aud clear,
There'll he twa winters IN the year
So whether the grounding is a
prophet or a fraud, we will be doomed
by tradition to suffer and shiver and
chill before spring is here providing
the sun shines on Saturday.
While Candlemas is feast day
the Catholic church, as was the case
also in the early English church, OBJ
served now in memory of the purifi-
cation Of the Virgin Mary, still long
before there was any Catholic church,
the anniversary was celebrated by
the pagans Of Rome by burning can
dies to the goddess Februa, the moth
Ell Of Mars, TO whom the month was
devoted, its name coming from the
Latin, .'februare, meaning, to Puri-
fy. This pagan Observance, which
Pope Sergius at the end Of the seventh
century found too firmly intrenched
in popular custom to be uprooted, he
wisely took captive and gave it
place in the feast days of the church,
as has been the case with so many
other feast days. The idea of puriii-
cation in general during February, as
the pagans had it, was narrowed by
the church to a festival in particular
token of the ceremonial publication
of the Virgin Mary, according to the
Jewish custom, forty days after the
birth of her child-the second day of
February being the fortieth day after
the 25th of December or Christmas.
The candles ceased to be carried as
general inspiration to cleanness of
heart and soul and came to typify a
special incident in tho motherhood Of
Mary, and later to recall Simeon's
prophecy regarding the Messiah, that
he should be "a ight to Tighten the
Gentles.
The supposed influence of the date
Of the weather perhaps arose from
observing the operation of the natural
law of averages regarding meteorolog-
zeal condtions-th that is, if it be unduly
warm and pleasant at time of the
year when in the ordinary course IL
ought to be cold, then, in order that
the equilibrium shall be maintained,
ii may reasonably be expected that il
will be unduly cold when the season
generally is turning to something less
vigorous. Thus we have it in folk
lore the saying that "a green Christ
mas makes fat graveyard, p" and the
idea that line weather ut Candlemas
means there is another winter to fol-
low it.
The use of the grounding as a long
ranged thermometer is quite likely
due to the circumstance that if the
weather be warm enough to induce
him to prematurely come out of his
hole early in February, the natural
average OF the seasons in this latitude
will quite likely inilict something very
chilly as an offset before the sun gets
in its better work rs far north as the
equator. some six or seven weeks
later.
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