Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-02-02
SAW HIS SHADOW
PROPHET GROuNDHOG SAYS
THERE MILL BE SIX WEEKS
MORE OF WINTER.
System Which the Little Weather
Prophet Has Used for Over Two
Thousand Years.
CONFUSION OVER THE DATE

According to Prophet Grounding
there Will be six weeks mere of winter
He saw his shadow today and crept
back int his hole TO hibernate for for.
| ty days more,
All the Weathef-Wise people profess
t. believe in the ground hog and his
pfophesying power, They avow with
great solemnity that this little animal
energies from the nest at the bottom ef
his winter quarters on the morning Of
him. Ii on that auspicious morning
be catches a glimpse OF black shad-
ow behind him he makes all haste L, be
back in his warm nest of leaves for
another nap of six weeks. If, however,
The skies are cloudy and he fails to see
even The faintest show Of a shadow he
makes preparation for his spring work
saakes off his lethargy and begins to
i've oaee more.
Eaere ale greaa amany people Was
5ez5a. il gle groaId hog and graEad
.4sszs Day a4d tas4 watch the day viii
=3.sa9 an1iety, tally Whea eeai
ard =Heoa aga d21r@so t&ey viii set
aal2e idea Of JUS bout how much
more money tfeg must spend befase
they besin 10 buy iee instead of fuel
AL believers in Tile ground h1g agree
as to his maraer i foreteIl.ng the
weather but they do not all agree as
TO the time when be appears Some
lenaciousiy Cling to me IDEA that the
!, little animal makes his survey Febrll=
2:y wlile others as taaactoUsly hold
mat he comes up to take a weather
squint February Il. or on St Valer-
tines day.
The only way 10 settle this dispute
is to delve back INTO folklore and my
tholGgy, when it is really seen that
February . is the true ground hog day.
BIT II is quite easy to see how the
people have become confused in their
dates. Our ancestors We're in the hab
il of keeping two high old feast days
during the month Of February. They
borrowed these Festivities from the R0-
mans, who conquered England about
the time Of tie birth of Christ. TIL
, first feast was in honor of Februuy.
mother OF Mars, and the second VAS. III
honor Of Lupurcuus, which occurred
on February 15 fhere was muaa
teasting on boJh these days. and the
celebrations were as sumptuoua a d as
lively as possible for the 1oisterias
participants to make them
Februus' day was considered the
turning point of winter, and on that
day great quantity of candles were
burned. At LupuHcalia it was thought
that the birds and animals mated and
the custom of drawing names whereby
single men obtained wives was wide
ly prevalent The feat was in honor
OF fertility, and it was thought that
unions formed On that day were par
ticularly fruitful ones.
But when Europe became Christian
lied the masses of the people were de-
termined to keep up their feasting on
these two great days. The religious
leaders also saw that it would not do
to let them pay reverence t. heather
gods, SO they hll upon happy expe-
dient. In the place of Februu5' day
, they appointed a feast of the church
called Candlemas, and Lupurcala was
changed to ST Valentines day. The
people, however, still persisted upon
professions and burning candles on
the day and the drawing of names. so
the priests winked at the customs, but