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urbpan ([personal profile] urbpan) wrote2005-02-02 12:35 pm
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Happy Candlemas!

Blessings of the returning of the light! (at least to my Northern Hemisphere friends--To my Southern Hemisphere friends: wish I was there)

Today is the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. If I was in charge of holidays, this day would be the big winter holiday that everybody looks forward to (as opposed to the one that we have, that happens four days after the Solstice).
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[identity profile] cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com 2005-02-02 05:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahhhhh....the sun is like the little engine that could! I know it can, I know it can, I know it can!

Happy Candelmas!

[identity profile] ninthraven.livejournal.com 2005-02-02 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree....this is the time of year when I need that big winter holiday cheer and warmth the most!

[identity profile] anais2.livejournal.com 2005-02-03 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
Perfect time for a holiday. Happy Candlemas!

Candlemas? Bah humbug!

(Anonymous) 2005-02-03 07:25 am (UTC)(link)
We get one decent holiday devoted to rodents and you've got to screw it up by tacking some weird name to it. You probably didn't even have a groundhogs day cake or any presents. I'm not sure I want to claim to be related to you anymore.
-Andy

Re: Candlemas? Bah humbug!

[identity profile] urbpan.livejournal.com 2005-02-03 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, well, it's St. Brigid's day and also Feast of the Marmot (groundhog day). Lots of names for halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

Of course, the rodent connection is pretty bogus, as any self-respecting groundhog hibernates well into April. Rats are more deserving of a holiday anyway.

Re: Candlemas? Bah humbug!

[identity profile] cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com 2005-02-05 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Feast of the Marmot? I don't think I'd want to eat one of those. Ick.

Re: Candlemas? Bah humbug!

[identity profile] urbpan.livejournal.com 2005-02-05 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
One of the teachers at Drumlin was doing a "Native American" program, [which involved] frying up flattened kernels of maize on a hot rock. I asked her what cooking oil the Native American's used. She said that if it was a good hunting year, they used bear fat. If it was a lean year, they used woodchuck fat. Ever since, I've wondered what it tasted like. (hopefully, better than they smell.)

A little action for the groundhog.

(Anonymous) 2005-02-04 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
According to an article in some nature magazine that I got recently, the reason the groundhog wakes up fromhis hibernation in early February is to check up on his lady friends. The male groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, visits the homes of the local female groundhogs and stays for the night. No hanky panky, though, just a friendly snuggle. After the little census of his "harem", he crawls back into his own hole and sleeps for another month or so (presumably to rest up before the big orgy that happens in the spring).

So, now you know!

-Turtle

Re: A little action for the groundhog.

[identity profile] urbpan.livejournal.com 2005-02-04 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh.
Never heard that one before. What magazine did you say that was?
The woodchuck I take care of doesn't hibernate, but stays hidden basically from before Halloween to almost May. But she's female.

Re: A little action for the groundhog.

(Anonymous) 2005-02-07 04:13 pm (UTC)(link)
It was in the National Wildlife Federation's magazine. The article is on-line here:

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=73&articleID=1043

-Turtle
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