If Candlemas day be cloudy with rain, winter is gone, and won’t come again. —Early Christian saying Every Feb. 2, Americans annually terrorize a large rodent in the pagan ritual we lovingly ...

Also taking place on February 2, the Christo-Pagan holiday Candlemas, prevalent in a number of European cultures, forebears the themes of Groundhog Day.

It is not, however, only the Romans who link Candlemas to ancient pagan beliefs. In the Celtic tradition, particularly among the Gaelic peoples, February 1st marked the festival of Imbolc, which ...

Groundhog Day Tradition Groundhog Day, celebrated in the U.S. and Canada, traces its origins to the German Candlemas tradition, where a badger’s emergence was believed to predict winter’s length.

Winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again. In 1723, the Delaware Native Americans settled in the area around Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It was a ...

Catholic Candelmas Eventually, these pagan traditions merged with Christianity and became what is known in the Catholic Church's calendar as Candlemas. Celebrated on February 2, Candlemas is the ...

During Candlemas, Christians would light candles to predict how long winter would last. The holiday stems from a centuries-old pagan and Christian tradition, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Badger Day itself was derived from another holiday known as “Candlemas,” a Christian holiday held on Feb. 2 to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary after Jesus was born.

Candlemas marks the mid-point between winter solstice and the spring equinox. Those who celebrate usually bless and distribute candles to symbolize the arrival of more sunlight after a long winter.

Canterbury Cathedral will mark the end of its Christmas season this weekend with a Christingle service for Candlemas. From November until the end of January children are encouraged to decorate an ...

RBC | I have an idea for the Meeker Chamber of Commerce: We could piggyback on the Pennsylvania Feb. 2 Groundhog Day hype by naming our groundhog as the one and only “Meeker Whistlepig” or the ...