Dear neighbours,

Groundhog Day, as many of you will know, has become a proverbial expression for that feeling that you are repeating yourself in words or actions. The phrase comes from a film title in which the 'hero' continually lives the same day, in this case the 2nd February. At first he feels cursed by this situation and then tries to manipulate it to his own advantage until finally he sees it as a blessing and the chance to become a better person. A person who can be loved for his service to others; a man who can make a real difference to a community and yet be humble.

I am convinced that it is no accident that the scriptwriters chose 2nd February for very good reasons. It is a day with highly significant spiritual resonance as well as the day when in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania there is the extraordinary ceremony when a groundhog is woken from hibernation to test whether winter is over. And if you think that was made up for the film think again!

Groundhog Day has its roots in an ancient Celtic celebration called Imbolc which marks one of the four cross-quarter days of the year, the midpoints between the spring and autumn equinoxes and the summer and winter solstice and is still celebrated by pagan communities to this day. At Imbolc, Brighid, the daughter of Daga, was pregnant with the seed of the Sun. She was ripe with the promise of new life, as the seeds of the earth deep within its soil begin to awaken at this time, thus signalling the return of spring.

These ideas coupled with the old belief that hibernating creatures are able to predict the arrival of springtime by their waking begin to explain the festival of the groundhog. But this newer tradition, dating from 1887, only came into being after German immigrants imported their Candlemas traditions to North America.

Candlemas is a wholly Christian festival which commemorates the ritual purification of Mary and her son Jesus being presented in the temple. These ceremonies were required 40 days after the birth. So by coincidence or design Candlemas falls on 2nd February also at a "cross-quarter" day half way between the first day of winter and the first day of spring. The tradition arose that if the weather was fair on Candlemas, the second half of the winter would be cold and stormy, but if the weather was cold and overcast or stormy, the second half of the winter would be mild. There were many sayings similar to the rhyme "If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another flight; but if it be dark with clouds and rain, winter is gone, and will not come again.” How our folklore and old wives' tales begin to weave together into a story of our dependence on agriculture and our closeness to the earth and to the whole of God's created order.

So at the start of this month while pagans celebrate Imbolc, Christians light candles to celebrate the life of the church in Christ and to give thanks for our children, for our opportunities and in hope of God's kingdom. It is a chance for all of us to take stock and consider whether our lives will be perpetual winters or whether we can be reborn and start again. In the film the hero does exactly that and settles on a life of service and community rather than fame and fortune. It isn't a Christian film, just a comedy, but if you've seen it you will know how affirming and heart-warming it is to watch a man die to his old life and aspire to a new. It's an opportunity that Christ gave to us all.

Every Blessing, Mac (Mike MacCormack, Curate)