Candlemas and the Grundsau

Candlemas on 2 February, the 40th day following Christmas, is a Roman Catholic and Protestant observance that celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. Also known as the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Darstellung des Herrn in German), or the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin (Mariä Reinigung or Mariä Lichtmess).

Candlemas used to be an important date (Lostag) associated with payment deadlines, fixed employment relationships, and the beginning of the “farmer’s year.” Lichtmess was a legal holiday in Bavaria until 1912. In German-speaking and other regions of Europe, the second day of February was also associated with weather lore and rural sayings (Bauernregeln) predicting whether cold winter weather would continue, or mild weather was in store. In French lore, if it rains on Candlemas (Chandeleur) there will be 40 more days of rainy weather.

The “candle” part of the Candlemas (Candle Mass) observance is related to the practice whereby a priest blesses beeswax candles on 2 February for use throughout the year, some of which are distributed to the faithful for use in the home. In German, Lichtmess (“light mass”) conveys the same idea: the light from burning candles.

A Pennsylvania Dutch Tradition
The Groundhog Day tradition in North America can be dated back to 1841 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Writing in his diary, James L. Morris, a shop owner in Morgantown, made the following entry on 4 February: “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”

A young groundhog (Marmota monax) seen in a field of clover. PHOTO: Ladycamera CC-BY-SA-4.0

Morris’s 1841 written account is the oldest known record of the February 2nd Groundhog Day custom for predicting the weather as the winter season draws closer to its end. The “Germans” in this case were Pennsylvania Germans, also known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, a term that they themselves prefer. (“Dutch” is not a corruption of “Deutsch”! In the 18th and 19th centuries the English term “Dutch” referred to people of German heritage. Long before there was a country called Deutschland and the Deutsches Reich of Prussia [not until 1871], the European boundaries for where German-speaking people lived were less precise and not the same as they are today.)

The Pennsylvania Dutch imported a German custom related to Candlemas (Mariä Lichtmess, 2 February) that used that day’s weather conditions plus a hibernating animal to predict how much longer cold winter weather would continue after that date. The custom is reflected in so-called “farmers/rural rules” or “almanac rules” known as Bauernregeln in German. A typical example in German and English:

“Ist’s zu Lichtmess klar und hell, kommt der Frühling nicht so schnell.”
“If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, winter will have another flight.” (literally, “…spring won’t come so fast”)

In Europe the predicting creature was a hedgehog (der Igel) or a badger (der Dachs). On Dachstag if a badger emerged from its den saw its shadow, it presaged four more weeks of winter. (This later became six weeks in the US.) Because neither animal was present in Pennsylvania, the German immigrants had to use a different hibernating creature: the groundhog (das Waldmurmeltier), a type of marmot. In Pennsylvania Dutch/Deitsch the groundhog was known as a Grundsau (“ground sow”), or in the typical German-English spelling: “Grundsow.“ Various Pennsylvania Dutch communities had different names for the groundhog, including dox (from Dachs) or grun’daks (similar to Grundsau).

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Although James Morris’s 1841 diary entry in Berks County is the first written record of the custom in North America, and other German-heritage places in Canada and the US observe the Groundhog Day custom, it is the small Pennsylvania community of Punxsutawney (pop. 5,769) in Jefferson County that lays claim to the longest ongoing Groundhog Day tradition. The February 1886 edition of the local Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper stated: “up to the time of going to press, the beast has not seen its shadow.” But the “official” start of the Groundhog Day ceremony came in 1887, when a group of locals went to the Gobbler’s Knob part of town to consult the groundhog. People have gathered annually at the spot for the event ever since.

In the 1880s the ceremony was conducted by the Punxsutawney Elks Lodge, and it still included hunting groundhogs in the fall, allowing time to marinate the meat for a feast in February. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was formed in 1887, and continued the annual hunt and “Groundhog Feast.” But over time, the hunting and picnic aspect yielded to just the Groundhog Day “shadow” ceremony at Gobbler’s Knob on the second day of February.

It was 1961 before the groundhog was dubbed “Punxsutawney Phil” and the tradition began to attract a wider audience of about 2,000 people. But the biggest change came following the 1993 Groundhog Day movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell (German title: Und täglich grüßt das Murmeltier). The crowds soon swelled to 10,000. Today the Gobbler’s Knob ceremony attracts up to 40,000 spectators, with a reduction during the covid pandemic. 2022 saw the resumption of a full event. For the 136th ceremony that year Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.

Beyond Punxsutawney
Today all across the US and Canada, many communities celebrate their own version of Groundhog Day. In Canada alone, there are a half dozen places with a Groundhog Day tradition. In French Canada the day is called Jour de la marmotte. “Fred la marmotte of Val-d’Espoir” has been the winter forecaster for the province of Quebec since 2009. In Lunenburg, Nova Scotia it is Shubenacadie Sam who makes the first “Daks Day” prediction in North America from the Atlantic Time Zone.

How Accurate Are Punxsutawney Phil’s Predictions?
The main problem with assessing Groundhog Day prediction accuracy is a lack of solid weather criteria. In other words, what does six more weeks of winter really mean? What is an early spring? Punxsutawney Phil’s statistics are kept by the Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Club. To date, Phil has predicted 103 forecasts for winter and just 17 for an early spring. Most assessments of Phil’s accuracy rate it about the same as random chance.

Punxsutawney Phil and other groundhogs may not have a high degree of accurate predictions, but is that really important? Perhaps it’s better to just enjoy the whimsy of an old custom, and enjoy the traditions that date back to a time when meteorology had yet to be fully developed. Also, we shouldn’t forget the fact that even current modern, technological weather prediction has trouble accurately predicting long range weather patterns.

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Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Holidays and Celebrations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
• The Ice Saints • die Eisheiligen – “Cold Sophie” and the other Ice Saints, plus more Bauernregeln

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