Groundhog Day – February 2

Groundhogs were considered a transitional period between winter and spring. They are also a symbol of increasing light, as evidenced by folk proverbs, for example:
On New Year’s, a chicken’s step, on Three Kings, one step further, and Groundhog Day, one hour more.

Groundhogs are the popular name for the Christian feast of the Lord’s Sacrifice. Believers celebrate it on February 2. It is the day of remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus in the temple and is celebrated on the 40th day after his birth. It is a holiday that has its roots in pre-Christian, Old Slavic culture.

In the past, people believed that when water flowed from the roof of Hromnice, the winter would last a long time. Or if there is a strong frost, you need to speed up the winter work, because spring is already knocking on the door. There were really enough customs and superstitions for this day. On Groundhog Day, housewives cooked long pasta to grow long plants. Or girls and boys went tobogganing and chose the longest track possible. The longer the track, the longer the flax and hemp. The length of the linen could also be predicted by the length of the hanging icicles.

Many prohibitions also applied to Candlesmas. It was a ban on sewing, but also work in the forest.
Groundhog Day was a day used to predict the weather. The longer the winter in Hromnice, the better the harvest, the warmer the summer and the early spring. He prefers to see a groundhog in a wolf in a basket than a peasant in a shirt. Everyone was afraid of warm Groundhog Day, and warm February because it predicted a long winter, a bad harvest, and the resulting poverty. When there are snow storms on Groundhog Day, spring will soon appear with a smiling face. If it freezes in Hromnice, it will be a good summer.

On this day, the owners gathered around the houses, with a glass and a warm oven. The so-called “much”. It was believed that those who did not drink on this day were to be bitten by flies and vermin throughout the year.

However, the most well-known and most important Hromnica custom is the consecration of candles during the holiday liturgy and going around the church.
Groundhog candles called “thunderbolts” were an important means of protection against storms: against thunder and lightning. In addition to the dwelling, they also protected crops and people who were stuck in the storm.

Peasant women used to drop a little wax from the consecrated candles in the church directly into the prayer book. At home, they then scraped it into linseed and set it aside for sowing. They believed that such flax would be protected from a destructive storm.

Candles, “crushers” used to be in almost every household. They were also lit near the dying person, near the head, as a protection against unclean forces and also to shine during his journey to the other world. This custom continues to this day. Plantains were also used in folk medicine for various diseases, for example against sore throats and angina. It is said that they also treated other inflammatory trifles.

In 494, Pope Gelasius introduced in the church the tradition of a procession around the church with burning candles, specially blessed for this purpose, to replace the procession with candles, which was part of the pagan festival.

There is no more winter in Groundhog Day chumelice.
The streets are blowing on Groundhog Day.
They passed the Groundhogs, the end of the sled.