Come celebrate Hedgehog Day at the Kaladi Brothers on East Tudor Road from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
I’ve held this event a few times in the past, and since I’m lazy, I’m using basically the same description that I used in the past. So, if you’ve seen this before, sorry for the repeat. But, if you are interested in the history of this special day, please read on…..
I know what you are thinking, the title of this event has the wrong ‘hog’, that it should be ‘Ground’hog Day and not ‘Hedge’hog Day? Well, according to the internet (and as we all know, everything on the internet is completely true and factual), long before Punxsutawney Phil started predicting the weather in Pennsylvania, the Romans were using hedgehogs to do the same thing. The difference was that the Romans would see if the hedgehog saw its shadow under a clear moon at night. If it saw its moon-shadow, another 6 weeks of winter was sure to follow.
But the tradition didn’t stop there. In the Gaelic calendar of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, St. Brighid's Day was celebrated on February 1st as a day for predicting the weather. In Scotland, a snake was the animal used to herald spring, and on the Isle of Man it was a large bird, but in Irish lore hedgehogs were used for this omen:
“In Irish folk tradition St. Brighid's Day, 1 February, is the first day of Spring, and thus of the farmer's year. ... To see a hedgehog was a good weather sign, for the hedgehog comes come out of the hole in which he has spent the winter, looks about to judge the weather, and returns to his burrow if bad weather is going to continue. If he stays out, it means that he knows the mild weather is coming.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day)
In Germany, the Roman tradition was celebrated using a hibernating badger, wolf, or bear as predictors. Many Germans that immigrated to the United States in the 1800’s settled in Pennsylvania, and they brought the tradition with them. However, instead of using other animals, the mystical powers of prediction were transferred to groundhogs, which are much more common in that area. And so, the tradition was re-named as Groundhog Day.
February 2nd is also known as Candlemas in the Christian calendar. It has religious significance for various reasons that I won’t get into, but it is interesting that this day marks the mid-point between the winter solstice (21 December) and the spring equinox (20 March), so it is literally the mid-point of winter. There’s a traditional rhyme in Great Britan that goes:
“If Candlemas Day is clear and bright,
Winter will have another bite.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.”
The largest celebration of Groundhog Day in the U.S. occurs in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Crowds of up to 40,000 will gather at Gobblers Knob at daybreak to see if Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) will see his shadow. The tradition began in the late 1800’s, but gained huge notoriety thanks to the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” (which, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend!). If Phil does see his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; but if he doesn’t see it, spring will come early.
Here in Alaska, we don’t have any hedgehogs (they’re only found in Europe), though there are groundhogs in the Interior. However, in Anchorage perhaps we should instead be celebrating Canadian Goose Day, since they are really our harbingers of spring.
Whatever animal you prefer, come to the Kaladi Brothers on East Tudor Road from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm and celebrate. Winter will be half-way over and maybe spring will be right around the corner!