SUBJECT:  Groundhog’s Day

QUESTION:  Is this day tied to any pagan observance?

ANSWER:

Yes.

Following is some information I found regarding Groundhog’s Day which is observed on 2 February:

Do you know the history of Groundhog's Day? It is a bastardization of the Pagan celebration of Candlemas Day and comes at the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (although some dispute the scientific basis for this claim).  Despite its Pagan background, Candlemas also shows up on the Christian calendar as well. Basically, the idea has evolved into this belief: If the groundhog sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see his shadow, it means spring is just around the corner.

While there are pretenders both in the US and in other countries, the most famous American groundhog is "Punxsutawney Phil " who resides in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Origin of Groundhog’s Day

Imbolic is the first cross-quartered day following the Winter Solstice. It lays midway between the Solstice (Yule) and the Equinox (Ostara).  It is commonly celebrated today as Ground Hog's Day, Traditionally; this was the last holiday of winter and the first holiday of spring. It is a doorway, which stands between the two seasons. When the groundhog emerges from his hole, he stands in this doorway. He can either emerge into springtime, or retreat back to his shelter from the cold days of winter. In folklore, if the day is sunny and he sees his shadow, he will be frightened and return to the burrow, foretelling six more weeks of winter. Alternatively, if it is cloudy and he casts no shadow, he emerges from his burrow and spring is just around the corner. Groundhog's day (February 2nd) has developed as a part of American folklore, but it has a much older, Pagan origin. Imbolic (Imbolc, or Imbolg) was an ancient Celtic festival which commemorated the time when new lambs were in the fold and the ewes were producing milk. It was seen as the time when the turning of the Wheel was causing Old Man Winter to loose his grip.

In ancient Rome the Lupercalia was celebrated around this time. Lupa was the sacred She-Wolf that nursed the foundlings (and founders of Rome), Romulus and Remus. The Lupercalia was celebrated with fertility rites and Lupa's Temple was a place where ritualized or sacred prostitution took place.  This was also a time for purification, and certain rites of purification were also celebrated at this time. Another holiday celebrated today, Valentine's Day is also related to this ancient celebration. The practice of sending Valentines goes back to the ancient Roman custom of drawing billets (billets translates as tickets, but were actually small scraps of paper with women's names written on them which young men would draw like lots). This would determine who might participate with whom in certain rites or games, often involving licentious behavior. The festival took place at the Ides (the 15th) of February.

Young men wore costumes, and often dressed in wolf-skins during the festival. Mardi Gras, and its associated costume balls may also be associated with this ancient practice.

The custom of dressing in "wolf's clothing" and making love with the priestesses of Lupa, the She-Wolf may also be related to the ancient belief in "werewolves." Stories of werewolves occur not just in ancient Roman folklore but also in Greek myth. Lycanthropy, the disease of "werewolfism" is named for King Lycaeus of Greek myth, and the Lyceum (the school where Socrates taught) takes its name from the same root, and translates as "wolf-temple." Artemis, Goddess of Wild Things, sometimes took the form of a wolf bitch.

Resources:

---From the Internet article, “Paganism: what is the wheel of the year?” http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/paganismwheelo_sxlp.htm

IMBOLC (February 2): Oimelc, Candlemas, The Feast of Waxing Light, and yes, even modern Groundhog’s Day, all are tied into this ancient holiday, the beginning of spring. The Sun God grows stronger and the Goddess– Mother Earth– begins to rise from her long period of rest after childbirth. As the world begins to thaw, the first stirring of spring is felt. Mankind can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the winter will soon be coming to an end. For Pagans, this is a time for cleansing and purification, and to continue celebrating the waxing of the year.

---From the Internet article, “Origins of Groundhog Day:
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/pestcontrol/a/groundhog_day_4.htm

In its earliest incarnation, Groundhog Day was Imbolc, a pagan celebration associated with fertility and weather divination. The word, Imbolc is Gaelic, the language of the Celts. There is a strong association between Imbolc and Brigid, a Celtic fertility goddess. When the pagan holidays were transformed into Catholic equivalents, two new holidays emerged from Imbolc. One, Saint Brigid's Day (a.k.a. Saint Bridget's Day), was celebrated on February 1. Saint Brigid's Day honored an Irish saint, named after the Celtic goddess, who was a contemporary of Saint Patrick's.

The second holiday deriving from Imbolc was Candlemas Day and was celebrated on February 2 (Groundhog Day). Candlemas was the feast of Mary's purification and was marked by a candle procession. The ties between purification rituals and the month of February also hark back to the pagan era. Indeed, our very word, "February," which derives from Latin, unmistakably designates the month as a time for purification (februa means "expiatory offerings"). The Lupercalia, a pagan Roman purification ritual, took place in February.

But how did a groundhog become the symbol for a holiday that was marked by a candle procession? Well, the Romans, for instance, had celebrated a rough equivalent to our Groundhog Day in early February -- only a hedgehog was in charge of the weather divination, not a groundhog. And such beliefs survived the Christianization of Europe (going "underground," if you will), attaching themselves to Candlemas Day as folklore. European settlers in North America kept the pagan tradition alive, but substituted the native groundhog for the European hedgehog. Clearly, Imbolc and the older traditions have won out: today in North America, almost everyone in the general public has heard of "Groundhog Day," while mention of "Candlemas Day" would generally draw expressions of puzzlement!

---Wikipedia article, “Imbolc”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc

The holiday was, and for many still is, a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Celebrations often involved hearth fires, special foods (butter, milk, and bannocks, for example), divination or watching for omens, candles or a bonfire if the weather permits. Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the North American Groundhog Day.

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