So, yeah we really do have a tradition here in America of checking on groundhogs on February 1st to predict the weather. As crazy as this sounds (and yes, we even name the groundhog Puxatawney Phil), there is an older wiser tradition behind this. It has to do with bears and old traditions in Europe, and something called Imbolg.
How could these things possibly be connected and how do they connect to the start of the Lunar New Year and the Chinese Zodiac?
Well, it's not quite as strange as you might think. You see, while February is historically often one of the colder months in the Norther Hemisphere, it is also seen as the month where the first signs of spring begin to emerge. The winter solstice, deep in December, is the low point of light and solar energy. But, by the time February rolls around there is noticeably more daylight, and while the temperatures can be quite frigid, there starts to be signs in nature that spring is on the way. It is considered the new year in East Asian cultures and the start of spring. Some of these signs from nature include the swelling of buds on trees and plants, some flowers emerging and blooming including snowdrops and skunk cabbage (believe it or not), some chickens starting to lay more eggs, ewe's producing milk again, and animals stirring in their dens.
These last two in particular give rise to some of our traditions. The ancient European/Celtic holiday of Imbolg is celebrated on or around February 1st and it is speculated that the name is etymologically linked to "ewe's milk" and the fact that sheep and goats start producing milk again. And, in some part's of Europe there are folk festivals around bears on this day, including the tradition of checking on bears in their den to see if their stirring or not.
If the bears are stirring and are active, then it suggests winter is going to end sooner rather than later.
This kind of information is hugely important to earth-connected cultures as it may tell them whether or not they have enough food stored up or whether they should start supplementing...
Which brings us to groundhogs. It seems this tradition was brought to the Americas and perhaps combined with other local traditions involving a much safer creature to check-on: groundhogs. There really is something to checking on denning/hibernating animals at this time to find out what they are doing and what it might mean for the rest of us.
Around here, it's currently snowy and icy. I haven't checked on the local bears in their dens, but according to Puxatawney Phil it's six more weeks of winter...which actually matches up with our local predictions as well.
Our ancestors were deeply in tune with cycles of time and observations of nature that greatly informed how they lived and how they harmonized with the world around them. There's nothing stopping us from doing the same these days, and perhaps it's a really good idea.
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