Groundhog day

I'm assuming the little rodent saw his shadow (at least he would have if he had popped up in my backyard), so by tradition that means we're in for 6 more weeks of winter.

February 2nd turns up as a celebration date in a lot of cultures. For Catholics, it's the date of Candlemas, which celebrates Jesus's presentation as an infant in the Temple, 40 days after his birth. And coming as it does midway (or close enough) between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, it was also part of the Celtic calendar, known variously as Brigid's Day or Imbolc. In addition to the equinoxes and solstices, the midpoints of the seasons were also important to many pre-Christians. Imbolc, Beltane (May 1), Lughnasadh (August 1), and Samhain (November 1) were all major feast days. Curiosly, all have survived in one form or another in the west (Groundhog Day, May Day, and Halloween) except for Lughnasadh. Maybe it's just too damn hot the first week in August to celebrate? Or maybe, between the Fourth of July in the US and Bastille Day in France we're just too partied out by then?

This year, we've got the happy coincidence of Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, and the Super Bowl all coming in the same week as Groundhog Day. Let the party begin. And while you're partying, think for a moment about the tradition of the midwinter party that you're helping to continue for another generation.

i had meant to note that Groundhog Day was a category during Jeopardy! last night. It would have been really funny had they used the same clue for all five answers in the category.