More Than Just Groundhog Day

February always comes as a surprise to me.  As much as I dislike winter and long for spring and summer, you would think I’d be counting every day.  But January always seems to be an extension of December.  We do Christmas with the in-laws on the 1st, Epiphany on the 6th, I still have lights in the windows…  So I’m always surprised when the month of January disappears and Ground Hog Day (February 2nd) is at the door.

Here in the states, February 2nd is known as Ground Hog Day. It’s a national thing and makes the news. Punxsutawney Phil is supposed to come out of his burrow and tell us whether or not Spring is on its way. Unfortunately, he’s not very accurate. He’s right about 39% of the time. Random chance is 33%. But it’s a big shindig in Punxsutawney, PA so I don’t think it will be going away any time soon.

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If on Candlemas Day it be shower and rain

Winter is gone and will not come again.

– Old English proverb

Not everyone needed a groundhog to predict the end of winter!

February 2nd is also the midway point between winter and spring.  (Yes! Half way through! Happy Dance!) The days are starting to be noticeably longer and hope for better weather abounds.

It’s also Imbolc, a cross-quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Solstice. As it is considered the beginning of Spring, it is a time of cleansing and purification, growth and renewal. It is believed to have originated as a Pagan festival honoring the goddess Brighid and Christianized into the festival of Saint Brighid. To different degrees, both are still celebrated on or about this day.

Today is also Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day has had different meanings over time. It is the Christian festival of lights; combining when Jesus was brought to the temple 40 days after his birth and the time when all the candles to be used in the church are brought forth and blessed. In the past, this was also the time for the lady of the house to inventory the candles to make sure she had enough to get through the winter. Candles were important for light but also thought to give protection against illness.

Another tradition of Candlemas, the one that always sends me into a frenzy and wishing February didn’t arrive so quickly, is that Candlemas was also the time when all the Christmas decorations were to be removed to avoid bad luck in the house. (Christmas was a much longer affair, back when.) This custom persisted for hundreds of years. Today there are people who claim Twelfth Day or Epiphany is The Day. I, however, prefer to stick with Candlemas Day. It allows me to leave my lights up to brighten my evenings for a few weeks more. 😀

I wish I could figure out a way to take a really good picture of the lights in the window!

So today I’ll be stripping out the rest of Christmas from the house and lighting candles in celebration.  And there will be tea and treats, of course!

Blessings be to match, wax, flame.

Gratitudes to the Kindler on this our Candlemas Day.

– Sarah Ban Breathnach “Simple Abundance”

Blessings and Best Wishes!

February 2nd Through The Ages

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If on Candlemas Day it be shower and rain

Winter is gone and will not come again.

– Old English proverb

Not everyone needed a groundhog to predict the end of winter!

February 2nd is the midway point between winter and spring.  The days are starting to be noticeably longer and hope for better weather abounds.

Here in the states, February 2nd is known as Ground Hog Day. Punxsutawney Phil is supposed to come out of his burrow and tell us whether or not Spring is on its way. Unfortunately, he’s not very accurate. He’s right about 39% of the time. Random chance is 33%. But it’s a big shindig in Punxsutawney, PA so I don’t think it will be going away any time soon.

It’s also Imbolc, a cross-quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Solstice. As it is considered the beginning of Spring, it is a time of cleansing and purification, growth and renewal. It is believed to have originated as a Pagan festival honoring the goddess Brighid and Christianized into the festival of Saint Brighid. To different degrees, both are still celebrated on or about this day.

But the tradition that concerns me today is that of Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day has had different meanings over time. It is the Christian festival of lights; combining when Jesus was brought to the temple 40 days after his birth and the time when all the candles to be used in the church are brought forth and blessed. In the past, this was also the time for the lady of the house to inventory the candles to make sure she had enough to get through the winter. Candles were important for light but also thought to give protection against illness.

Candlemas was also the time when all the Christmas decorations were to be removed to avoid bad luck in the house. (Christmas was a much longer affair, back when.) This custom persisted for hundreds of years. Today there are people who claim Twelfth Day or Epiphany is The Day. I, however, prefer to stick with Candlemas Day. It allows me to leave my lights up to brighten my evenings for a few weeks more. 😀

I wish I could figure out a way to take a really good picture of the lights in the window!

So tomorrow I’ll be stripping out the rest of Christmas from the house and enjoying some candles and tea and cookies!

Blessings be to match, wax, flame.

Gratitudes to the Kindler on this our Candlemas Day.

– Sarah Ban Breathnach “Simple Abundance”

 

What Is February 2nd To You?

February 2nd is more than just Ground Hog Day…

Commonly, February 2nd is known as Ground Hog Day. Punxsutawney Phil is supposed to come out of his burrow and tell us whether or not Spring is on its way. Unfortunately, he’s not very accurate. He’s right about 39% of the time. Random chance is 33%. But it’s a big shindig in Punxsutawney, PA so I don’t think it will be going away any time soon.

It’s also Imbolc, a cross-quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Solstice. As it is considered the beginning of Spring, it is a time of cleansing and purification, growth and renewal. It is believed to have originated as a Pagan festival honoring the goddess Brighid and Christianized into the festival of Saint Brighid. To different degrees, both are still celebrated on or about this day.

But the tradition that concerns me today is that of Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day has had different meanings over time. It is the Christian festival of lights; combining when Jesus was brought to the temple 40 days after his birth and the time when all the candles to be used in the church were brought forth and blessed. This was also the time for the lady of the house to inventory the candles to make sure she had enough to get through the winter. Candles were important for light but also thought to give protection against illness.

Candlemas was also the time when all the Christmas decorations were to be removed to avoid bad luck in the house. (Christmas was a much longer affair, back when.) This custom persisted for hundreds of years. Today there are people who claim Twelfth Day or Epiphany is The Day. I, however, prefer to stick with Candlemas Day. It allows me to leave my lights up to brighten my evenings for a few weeks more.

So today I am determined to clear Christmas out!   I will light some candles in celebration, heat up some Hot Sweet Cider that I have made, and start stripping the last of Christmas out of my house.  I’ll let you how it all works out.  (After I get my backside out of bed in the morning.  I’m posting at midnight here. 🙂 )

First of all, my walls are white, not yellow. But this is how I hang lights in my windows. The lamp is a golden brown and a gift from a friend. The little oil can used to belong to my Great Grandfather and the color is very close to the color of the lamp. I grabbed the wee rooster one year with Christmas cheer because he was such a cheerful little fellow and I see him every morning. And I was sooo ‘awake’ when I was taking this picture I only just noticed that one of the lights is hanging loose at the top. *shakes head*  But this is what I’ll be saying ‘Good-Bye’ to till next year.

 *** UPDATE ***

Did I get Christmas put away?  Yes.  Clean-up? Not quite.  There are still suction cup marks to be washed off the windows and the suction cups need washed as well.  Stupidity and a YUK screwed with my day.

The stupidity?  I sat down at the computer to look up ‘just one thing’ before bed. No, I’m not telling what time I actually got to bed (Or what time I got up.).  I gotta figure out an alarm that won’t wake up the house so that I don’t ramble the internet until the wee hours.  Thank heavens I’m not working.

The YUK?  Weelll, apparently someone threw up on my bed.  It was a juicy puke without much fur, so you know there will be a big honkin’ furball anytime now.  The problem was that it happened at night.  Before I went to bed but after I turned all the lights off ‘cept the night-light.  So I turned the heating blanket on, got ready and got in bed.  I didn’t find the puke till I got up and went to make the bed.  I slept in it. I like to think it was dry by the time I got in bed.  That’s better, right?  Anyway, that meant the monthly bed strip and wash was today, like it or not. YUK.

But Christmas is gone.  I even pitched the poinsettias.  No trying to keep them going till spring, no saving them.  I put them right over the hill even though I was cringing as I did it.  And now I’m sad.  The house looks so dark and dreary without all the lights in the windows. *sniffle*

February 2, Ground Hog Day, Imbolc, and Candlemas

February 2

February 2 is commonly known as Ground Hog Day. Punxsutawney Phil is supposed to come out of his burrow and tell us whether or not Spring is on its way. Unfortunately, he’s not very accurate. He’s right about 39% of the time. Random chance is 33%. But it’s a big shindig in Punxsutawney, PA so I don’t think it will be going away any time soon.

It’s also Imbolc, a cross-quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Solstice. As it is considered the beginning of Spring, it is a time of cleansing and purification, growth and renewal. It is believed to have originated as Pagan festival honoring the goddess Brighid and Christianized into the festival of Saint Brighid. To different degrees, both are still celebrated on or about this day.

But the tradition that concerned me today is that of Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day has had different meanings over time. It is the Christian festival of lights; combining when Jesus was brought to the temple 40 days after his birth and the time when all the candles to be used in the church were brought forth and blessed. This was also the time for the lady of the house to inventory the candles to make sure she had enough to get through the winter. Candles were important for light but also thought to give protection against illness.

Candlemas was also the time when all the Christmas decorations were to be removed to avoid bad luck in the house. (Christmas was a much longer affair, back when.) This custom persisted for hundreds of years. Today there are people who claim Twelfth Day or Epiphany is The Day. I, however, prefer Candlemas Day. It allows me to leave my lights up to brighten my evenings for a few weeks more. Unfortunately, the past couple of years I have been failing in this regard. Today I am determined to clear Christmas out!

Success!!!

 Today didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I didn’t get started till just before dinner. I am, however, relieved to say that Christmas is put away. All the lights and suction cups were removed from the windows and the suction cup marks washed off. The lights were dusted and bagged; the suction cups washed and mostly dried by the Husband. They will now finish drying overnight and then join the lights in the light box.

Luuuuve suction cups for Christmas lights in the windows!

Next on the list were the candle holders.  I had already boxed the centerpiece on the table when I thought to take a picture.  You can see it on my Christmas post.  These are what was left, de-waxed and cleaned and ready to put away.

Did you know that my hair dryer on high melts candle wax? It made cleaning all the puddled wax in the votive holders and all the drips on the taper holder slide right off.

I then cleaned off the table and got out the winter place mats.

An empty bowl awaiting fruit and a table waiting for its next decoration.

This is what is in the corner of the place mats. Isn’t it pretty?

And in honor of Candlemas I lit some candles to brighten the evening.

And according the clock, I’m a day late posting this!  🙂