Groundhog Day, the often ridiculed,
mostly over-looked February mark on the calendar is my favorite
holiday. Besides the fact that it features a giant weather
forecasting rodent (what's not to love?), Groundhog Day's origins are
interesting and relevant to anyone who loves the outdoors..
Groundhog Day is a regional modern
twisting of the ancient observation of the cross-quarters day of
Candlemas. Cross quarter days are celestial markings of the midpoint
between equinoxes and solstices: Groundhog Day between winter and
spring; May Day between spring and summer; Halloween between fall and
winter; and an August one, Lammas, which has faded into oblivion.
Some theorize that the Pennsylvania Dutch invention of the groundhog
tradition was a attempt to resolve our modern calendar with a more
ancient pagan one that said the first day of spring was the cross
quarters day. Think about it. Doesn't it make more sense that the
shortest day of the year should be midwinter? Not the start of
winter? Anyway, not sure what calender to use, rural farmers let the
groundhog decide which planting calendar to go by.
Cross quarter days are most often
associated with the Celtic/Pagan tradition and are closely observed
by modern “witches” and Wiccans. But the solar calendar
observations of the equinoxes, solstices and cross quarter days can
be found in the ancient carvings and monuments throughout the world
and archeological history. To any ancient man, living by the skin of
teeth on the raising of slim crops, the march of the sun across the
sky were his most important and holy observations.
Today, it's a kitschy joke. But that
joke has given us one of the funniest, philosophical, and relevant
comedy films ever made.
Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and
Andie McDowell was a work of true brilliance. All of us in menial,
demeaning jobs can relate to the concept: living the same exact day
over and over again until we go completely bat shit insane. The movie
ask the question, giving that circumstance, what makes your life
worth living? The answer—continual self improvement, connection
with a community and a sense of purpose—borders on the cliché but
is backed up by study after study in the emerging science of human
happiness. Money, power, material goods, hedonistic pleasures—none
of them lead to even a modicum of happiness as Bill Murray
hilariously finds out.
People may laugh at Groundhog Day but
they also don't ruin it with bloated expectations and decadent
celebrations. No one's figured out how to commercialize Groundhog
Day. People don't mob the stores to buy roast groundhog or
chocolate-covered groundhogs. As a weary member of the retail
workforce that alone is reason enough to love the holiday.
Happy Groundhog Day. It's about six
weeks to the spring equinox--whether the fury little rat sees its
shadow or not. And remember, “Don't drive angry.”
