The second of February is a day chosen in several parts of the northern hemisphere for the purpose of deciding how soon the spring will start.
In the USA, for example, it’s called groundhog day. The tradition there says that if it’s cloudy when a groundhog (our equivalent would be marmot) comes out of its burrow on February 2nd it will be an early spring. On the other hand, if it’s a sunny day, the groundhog will see its own shadow and go back into its burrow. This means that winter will carry on for another six weeks.
The rhyme goes like this:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
winter will not come again.
In French Canada it’s called Jour de la Marmotte. .
In Italy February 2nd coincides with the religious festival of Candelora (in the UK, Candlemas). Named after the lighting of candles in churches to symbolise the arrival of Christ’s light on the earth, it also celebrates two other event which have an ancient Hebraic root. First is the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Second is the purification of the Virgin since for forty days after giving birth a woman was reckoned to be in an impure state.
(Fresco by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel Padova which we visited some years sgo)
The February festival has both pagan origins and later accretions. In pagan times it celebrated the rebirth of light after the darkest and coldest period of winter (c. f .my post at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/i-giorni-della-merla/). In parts of Italy the festival became combined with that of popular saints. In Catania, for example, the 2nd of February also celebrates Saint Agatha, the city’s patron saint who is depicted bearing a dish on which appear to be two crème caramels but are, in fact, her breasts which were cut off at a torture session before her martyrdom (significantly Saint Agatha is patron saint of breast cancer victims – and also, incidentally, of safe eruptions on mount Etna.).
Be as it may, does the Festa della Candelora in Italy bring any weather predictions? Surprisingly, the weather on Candelora can signal two opposite trends depending on what one does (or doesn’t believe). The first is signalled by this verse
Madonna della Candelora
dell’inverno sèmo fòra
ma se piove o tira vento,
de l’inverno semo ancora ‘rento.’
(My translation follows:
Candlemas Madonna,
If the day comes fine
We’ll be out of winter.
But if it’s rain or brine
To more winter we must re-enter.)
In other words, if the weather is fine on February second we’ll be out of winter, otherwise winter will drag on.
However, there is a second Italian version which goes like this and predicts the complete opposite event:
Per la Santa Candelora
se nevica o se plora
dell’inverno siamo fora,
ma se l’è sole o solicello
siamo sempre a mezzo inverno’
(My translation follows:
On the feast of Candlemas,
If the day brings rains or snows,
We’ll be well out of winter.
But if there’s sun and no clouds pass
And all about brightness glows
We’ll still be in mid-winter.)
Which versified Candlemas weather prediction should I believe in? All I can say is that this year February has started with fine weather. The nights have been close to zero but the days have radiantly warm sunshine by midday.
Yesterday we took a walk up to the little chapel of the Madonna of the snow. Two of our cats followed us. It was lovely to see so many signs of the end of winter in the crocuses, the merry birdsong and the emerging buds.
Ah well. Let there always be verses to cope with every weather condition so that no-one can ever be proved right or wrong! At least I saw these for the first time yesterday: