Editor’s Notes: Chasing away the winter

(Editor's Notes by Christina Myer - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)
For those of you who think Groundhog Day is just a Bill Murray movie and don’t give it a lot of thought, Sunday won’t mean much. But for those of us who have fun clinging to silly traditions that involve woodland creatures — or who just get a kick out of saying “Punxsutawney” — Sunday will have an element of fun. It turns out, it will connect us to much deeper roots than I’d realized.
It wasn’t until I received a news release from the West Virginia State Wildlife Center in French Creek about the annual celebration involving French Creek Freddie that I remembered what day was approaching. The snow and deep freeze really mess with a person’s sense of time — or ability to remember that the days WILL get longer, brighter and warmer.
But once I saw the list of activities (there is a wood chucking contest!), I perked up. It’s NOT going to be winter forever. Humans have come up with lots of ways to remind ourselves of that at about this time of year.
Feb. 2 is also Candlemas, one of Christianity’s older feast days. It is meant to commemorate the presentation of Jesus at the temple — the bringing of Light to the wider world. But as humans do, we tied lots of other traditions and superstitions to the date. Europeans decided to add weather-prediction to the day’s events and, depending on the region, the emergence of a badger, bear or fox was watched to see if — because of clear skies — the creature could see its shadow. If it did, that meant there would be either four or six more weeks of winter, again depending upon the region.
Well when the German-speaking Europeans we call Pennsylvania Dutch arrived in North America, they couldn’t find a badger, but there were groundhogs aplenty. And so, whether it be Punxsutawney Phil, French Creek Freddie or any number of other regional variants, on Feb. 2 many of us light-heartedly pin our hopes (or frustrations) on a furry, chubby little rodent who gets hoisted out of a cozy den, has no idea what is going on as it blinks under the flashbulbs, and then goes back about its business.
Another celebration that tells us people have been losing patience with winter for millennia is Fasnacht. Some people refer to Fasnacht festivities as the “Mardi Gras of Appalachia.” It’s another Swiss/German tradition — this one centered in Helvetia, about 20 miles from French Creek.
The 2025 Fasnacht Festival will be March 1 — but fair warning: Be prepared for some creepy looking masks and costumes, square dancing and the traditional burning in effigy of Old Man Winter.
However we celebrate to bridge the gap between holiday lights and sunshine, these pick-me-ups are important. Cold darkness is not forever. And no matter what the groundhogs say, clocks will be springing forward March 9. The first day of spring is March 20.
Whether it takes a wood chucking contest, fun masks or a little dancing, we just have to hang on tight and make it there. The light WILL come.
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I got updated information this week from Jamie Lima, West Virginia’s state director for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library at Marshall University’s June Harless Center. There are 51,000 children ages birth to 5 enrolled in the program statewide. That’s wonderful news. But there are also still hundreds of children waiting sponsorship for this fiscal year. Become a supporter here: https://tinyurl.com/55ktd5ek.
If you’re tired of waiting for brighter days to come this spring, be the light right now.
Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com