Don't Reenact the Groundhog Day Movie in Your Yard!
Wednesday January 18, 2006
Frankly, when it comes to Groundhog Day, there are two vocal camps -- one of which holds Groundhog Day to be the most insipid of holidays. I myself belong to the other camp, but that doesn't mean I want to reenact the Groundhog Day movie in my own backyard....
In past incarnations, Groundhog Day was Imbolc (pagan) and Candlemas Day (Catholic). We all know the gist of Groundhog Day, February 2. If the Groundhog comes out of his winter quarters and sees his shadow, then he will return to his burrow for another six weeks. This is how Groundhog Day turns out most years, namely, with a prediction that spring will not arrive till the calendar says it's time. But if Groundhog Day is cloudy, then the Groundhog will remain out, since cloud cover on Groundhog Day is supposed to be an indication of prematurely good weather -- i.e., an early spring.
At this juncture, perhaps you're in the scoffer's camp, shrugging your shoulders with a "so what?" regarding Groundhog Day and its vernal prognostications. Bill Murray's character in the movie, "Groundhog Day," certainly started out in this camp, before his transition (and transition, as I argue below, is what the Groundhog Day holiday is all about). It's rather arbitrary to choose a groundhog to play weather forecaster, rather than some other animal; nor should the weather on one day (February 2) weigh so heavily in a 6-week forecast. But such objections utterly miss the point behind Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day is our only holiday that focuses squarely on weather. It occurs at a time when weather occupies Northerners' thoughts more thoroughly than at any other time of the year. We know we're still stuck in winter, but enough of the winter has elapsed that we feel we can now justifiably look ahead to the promise of spring. More than any other holiday, Groundhog Day is the "looking-ahead" holiday, a holiday of transition. We're not so much celebrating the day at hand on February 2 as we are a day that is on our horizon, the spring equinox. The latter is simply being celebrated ahead of time, as Groundhog Day, on February 2. Asking us to bottle up our spring hopes until three weeks in March have passed would be unreasonable, don't you think?
This rationale accounts for all the talk about "forecasting" on Groundhog Day. For it isn't the Groundhog who's looking into the future on Groundhog Day, it is we. And whether it arrives early, late or on-time, this is one prediction that inevitably will prove true: spring will arrive, one way or another. At least it always has. And on Groundhog Day we take solace in that fact.
If you conceive of Groundhog Day as the "looking-ahead" holiday, par excellence, suddenly you'll realize that the date of February 2 is not so arbitrary, after all. Think of a year's time as a huge disk, like a clock. How might one divide that disk into equal parts? Well, let's say the winter solstice stands at 6:00, the summer solstice at 12:00. By this logic, the spring equinox and fall equinox would stand at 9:00 and 3:00, respectively, working clockwise. The period that concerns us is that between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, that time when spring is so close, and yet so far away. If we looked for the midpoint between these two junctures, it would be 7:30 on our imaginary clock -- or February 2, according to the calendar. It would be Groundhog Day, in other words.
Yes, Groundhog Day stands at one of the eight major junctures of the year's passing. By the time February 2 arrives, we've already completed the most difficult portion of our ascent out of the pit of winter's darkest days. The future looks bright as we survey it from our Groundhog Day burrows -- and nothing can overshadow our optimism.
But if you wish to maintain your optimism throughout the landscaping and gardening season, you'd better read these tips on controlling groundhog garden pests. Your prized plants will be treated as nothing more than a salad buffet, unless you learn how to keep groundhogs out of your garden.
Fortunately, groundhogs leave signs behind that warn you of their presence, giving you a chance to save your plants. Thus my injunction, "Don't reenact the 'Groundhog Day' movie in your yard!" That is to say, don't be like Bill Murray's character and ignore the signs that are all around you. For if you do, your plants, like the protagonist in the movie, will have no future!
In past incarnations, Groundhog Day was Imbolc (pagan) and Candlemas Day (Catholic). We all know the gist of Groundhog Day, February 2. If the Groundhog comes out of his winter quarters and sees his shadow, then he will return to his burrow for another six weeks. This is how Groundhog Day turns out most years, namely, with a prediction that spring will not arrive till the calendar says it's time. But if Groundhog Day is cloudy, then the Groundhog will remain out, since cloud cover on Groundhog Day is supposed to be an indication of prematurely good weather -- i.e., an early spring.
At this juncture, perhaps you're in the scoffer's camp, shrugging your shoulders with a "so what?" regarding Groundhog Day and its vernal prognostications. Bill Murray's character in the movie, "Groundhog Day," certainly started out in this camp, before his transition (and transition, as I argue below, is what the Groundhog Day holiday is all about). It's rather arbitrary to choose a groundhog to play weather forecaster, rather than some other animal; nor should the weather on one day (February 2) weigh so heavily in a 6-week forecast. But such objections utterly miss the point behind Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day is our only holiday that focuses squarely on weather. It occurs at a time when weather occupies Northerners' thoughts more thoroughly than at any other time of the year. We know we're still stuck in winter, but enough of the winter has elapsed that we feel we can now justifiably look ahead to the promise of spring. More than any other holiday, Groundhog Day is the "looking-ahead" holiday, a holiday of transition. We're not so much celebrating the day at hand on February 2 as we are a day that is on our horizon, the spring equinox. The latter is simply being celebrated ahead of time, as Groundhog Day, on February 2. Asking us to bottle up our spring hopes until three weeks in March have passed would be unreasonable, don't you think?
This rationale accounts for all the talk about "forecasting" on Groundhog Day. For it isn't the Groundhog who's looking into the future on Groundhog Day, it is we. And whether it arrives early, late or on-time, this is one prediction that inevitably will prove true: spring will arrive, one way or another. At least it always has. And on Groundhog Day we take solace in that fact.
If you conceive of Groundhog Day as the "looking-ahead" holiday, par excellence, suddenly you'll realize that the date of February 2 is not so arbitrary, after all. Think of a year's time as a huge disk, like a clock. How might one divide that disk into equal parts? Well, let's say the winter solstice stands at 6:00, the summer solstice at 12:00. By this logic, the spring equinox and fall equinox would stand at 9:00 and 3:00, respectively, working clockwise. The period that concerns us is that between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, that time when spring is so close, and yet so far away. If we looked for the midpoint between these two junctures, it would be 7:30 on our imaginary clock -- or February 2, according to the calendar. It would be Groundhog Day, in other words.
Yes, Groundhog Day stands at one of the eight major junctures of the year's passing. By the time February 2 arrives, we've already completed the most difficult portion of our ascent out of the pit of winter's darkest days. The future looks bright as we survey it from our Groundhog Day burrows -- and nothing can overshadow our optimism.
But if you wish to maintain your optimism throughout the landscaping and gardening season, you'd better read these tips on controlling groundhog garden pests. Your prized plants will be treated as nothing more than a salad buffet, unless you learn how to keep groundhogs out of your garden.
Fortunately, groundhogs leave signs behind that warn you of their presence, giving you a chance to save your plants. Thus my injunction, "Don't reenact the 'Groundhog Day' movie in your yard!" That is to say, don't be like Bill Murray's character and ignore the signs that are all around you. For if you do, your plants, like the protagonist in the movie, will have no future!
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