Groundhog Day or Ground Hog Day?
February will be a very special month this year. It will end with Leap Day, February 29, on a Saturday, and begin with Groundhog Day weekend: main event Sunday February 2. The Super Bowl also happens that day, but it is minor compared to the day which celebrates the large rodent who is the harbinger of spring.
In honor of this special holiday we are having a Ground Hog Breakfast. Thanks to the Harlow family for taking initiative with our Community Breakfasts this year. Regina thought she had a lead on some locally sourced groundhog, but it appears they are all hibernating and unavailable at the moment.
Observant readers may have already noted that our bulletin and church sign have been promoting this event as a Ground Hog Breakfast, not a Groundhog Breakfast. Ground Hog is simply….sausage. Fooled you. I saw an article in Messenger last year about a church in Iowa or somewhere that did a Ground Hog Breakfast. I couldn’t wait to try it since the special day actually falls on a Sunday this year.
Speaking of Groundhog Day, I did find some history and trivia to share. The tradition of predicting weather on February 2 dates back to medieval Europe. This day is considered the mid-point of winter, half way between winter solstice and spring equinox. A Christian festival known as Candlemas was also observed on this day. It was a celebration of lighting candles in hopeful anticipation of the end of the dreary winter. Hope is an essential theme, whether Candlemas or Groundhog Day, this is a time to begin to anticipate the coming of spring, new life, and the resurrection of our Lord on Easter.
When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they brought their customs with them. In Europe hedgehogs had been the critter-of-honor. When they got here, finding no hedgehogs, they apparently chose the plentiful groundhog.
The first recorded Groundhog Day ceremony happened on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and became an annual event. Their local groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, has become quite a celebrity. While Phil’s handlers claim he is 100% in predicting the coming of warm weather, the National Climatic Data Center awards him only 39% accuracy.
Another fun fact: when groundhogs emerge from their dens they are not so much looking for their shadow as looking for a mate. So maybe Groundhog Day is more like Valentine’s Day for groundhogs.
Pastor Wayne
In honor of this special holiday we are having a Ground Hog Breakfast. Thanks to the Harlow family for taking initiative with our Community Breakfasts this year. Regina thought she had a lead on some locally sourced groundhog, but it appears they are all hibernating and unavailable at the moment.
Observant readers may have already noted that our bulletin and church sign have been promoting this event as a Ground Hog Breakfast, not a Groundhog Breakfast. Ground Hog is simply….sausage. Fooled you. I saw an article in Messenger last year about a church in Iowa or somewhere that did a Ground Hog Breakfast. I couldn’t wait to try it since the special day actually falls on a Sunday this year.
Speaking of Groundhog Day, I did find some history and trivia to share. The tradition of predicting weather on February 2 dates back to medieval Europe. This day is considered the mid-point of winter, half way between winter solstice and spring equinox. A Christian festival known as Candlemas was also observed on this day. It was a celebration of lighting candles in hopeful anticipation of the end of the dreary winter. Hope is an essential theme, whether Candlemas or Groundhog Day, this is a time to begin to anticipate the coming of spring, new life, and the resurrection of our Lord on Easter.
When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they brought their customs with them. In Europe hedgehogs had been the critter-of-honor. When they got here, finding no hedgehogs, they apparently chose the plentiful groundhog.
The first recorded Groundhog Day ceremony happened on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and became an annual event. Their local groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, has become quite a celebrity. While Phil’s handlers claim he is 100% in predicting the coming of warm weather, the National Climatic Data Center awards him only 39% accuracy.
Another fun fact: when groundhogs emerge from their dens they are not so much looking for their shadow as looking for a mate. So maybe Groundhog Day is more like Valentine’s Day for groundhogs.
Pastor Wayne