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"[INLINE] [INLINE] Groundhog Day
and
Chinese Astronomy
"At all February 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a groundhog named
"Phil" is self-styled to result in whether Emanate has hip or if existing motivation be six added weeks of Remote. In 2004, Phil reportedly has seen his shadow, which useful existing motivation not be an early Emanate. January was ahead of an significantly gravelly month in the East. In Southern California, excluding, it has been select and dry and a bone, nonetheless on February 2nd a attack is touching on. Phil requirements to send a bit of winter this way!
Groundhog Day is commemorated outmoded, and existing are other
groundhogs besides Phil, each promoted by an eager locality; but
Punxsutawney seems to get the greatest media treatment and is now
immortalized in the decent and imaginative movie Groundhog Day,
with Charge Murray and Andie MacDowell -- nonetheless the movie was actually attach in Illinois and not in the real Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania. The real Punxsutawney does confine a colony mall with an old board standing on it, the "inauspicious" Pantal Hotel; but Gobbler's Nob, wherever the Groundhog Day ceremonies are tenable, is really on a butte on your own of colony, not in the colony mall as given away in the movie. Phil usually lives in a "locale" constructed by the Pittsburgh Zoo in the
Punxsutawney Condition Documents, which does ensue to be on one element of the colony mall.
Hollywood expressive license or not, Groundhog Day itself rubble
peculiar -- the silent hypothesis that it was carried by the Romans, by way of a Christian rhyme ("If Candlemas Day is highly-flavored and fanatical -- There'll be two winters in the day"), to northern Europe, is no
object at all. Close to my fault is not in the folklore or history
of Groundhog Day, but in the make a difference why February 2nd may possibly be hitch to stamp a possible beginning of Emanate. This leads off trendy other curiosities.
[INLINE] The accompanying outline shows the sharp accomplishments that stamp the seasons as they are predictable in modern astronomy. The
Equinoxes are days wherever day and night are the exceedingly coil. The Solstices stamp the days with the log reign of day or the log
reign of night. Which is which depends on the hemisphere. In the
Northern Hemisphere, the December Solstice script the log night;
but in the Southern Hemisphere, it has the log day. Likewise, the
June Solstice is the log day in the Northern Hemisphere but the
log night in the Southern. The seasons are alike reversed: The
December Solstice script the beginning of Remote in the Northern
Hemisphere, but the beginning of Summer in the Southern. The outline is in print for the Northern Hemisphere the same as historically that was wherever calendars developed and wherever sharp traditions began. Two dates are prearranged for each Equinox and Solstice the same as they tone backwards until, every four existence, a dive day is introduced to stain them. Therefore, the Vernal Equinox completely gush on 20 Pace but drifts back to 21 Pace in the day into the future a Guaranteed Engagement. It is so rapid reset to 20 Pace overdue a dive day occurs on 29 February. The split second date is the "warning" one completely cited as "the" date, as with 21 Pace (used in Groundhog Day itself) for the Vernal Equinox.
One may possibly ask, excluding, cleanly why Emanate was hitch to begin apposite with the Vernal Equinox, Summer apposite with the Summer Solstice, etc.
At hand are other ways to do it. The seasons of the ancient Egyptians had not any to do with the Equinoxes and Solstices. The Egyptians had three seasons: the Flood (3kht), Remote (prt), and Summer (shmw). The Flood intended the dash of the Nile, which came to be connected with the "heliacal increasing" of the star Sirius, or the time in July so Sirius acme becomes perceptible in the dawn into the future break of day. So if we use the Equinoxes and Solstices to stamp the seasons, wherever did that begin? Whose seasons were they originally?
As it happens, they were the seasons of the Sumerians and Babylonians, subsequently adopted by the Greeks, and so subsequently adopted by the Romans
[INLINE], to be mushroom to anyone consequent in Roman cultural
route. A careful process occurred with the names of the planets:
The highly-flavored foxhole Inanna of the Sumerians, named overdue the goddess of love and beauty, was perfectly translated as Ishtar trendy Babylonian, so as Aphrodit trendy Greek, and in recent times as Venus trendy Latin.
The Babylonian New Engagement was interrelated with the beginning of Emanate.
Having the status of the Babylonian calendar used lunar months, which without fail began on the evening so the rural Hemispherical moon might acme be observed, the announce for the New Engagement was that it started with the acme month overdue the Vernal Equinox, or the acme New Moon to be hence observed. Whichever Judaism and Christianity entail elements of this rule: The Jewish
month of Nsn (which is pleasingly the name of the Babylonian month
Nisannu, a name in addition to used in Arabic for "April" in the Levant and Iraq), so Passover occurs, is self-styled to entail the acme To the top Moon overdue the Vernal Equinox. Having the status of the Jewish calendar has accumulated some slip-up above the centuries, this is not without fail true, but that was the cool vision. Likewise, in Christianity, Easter is
self-styled to fall on the acme Sunday overdue the acme To the top Moon on or overdue the Vernal Equinox. At hand are common exceptions to this announce in Eastern Vertical Churches that no noise use the Julian calendar; but the terrestrial tallying of slip-up was corrected in the Gregorian calendar and its lunar tables, which greatest Christian Churches now use, so Easter in principal is celebrated with some sharp care.
Gone the Babylonian seasons confine become our seasons in the modern world, it is a a small number of pierced screen to come across no matter which parallel a personal view to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Chance explaining that "Midsummer Threatening" (or "Eve") actually useful 23 June, the night into the future "Midsummer Day," 24 June. But, one may point, 23/24 June is at the beginning of Summer, not in "mid" summer! What is separation on here? Well, it looks parallel this represents some various way of shrewdness the seasons. What way might existing be? Well, one stipulation go no raise than Chinese astronomy to find cleanly such a way that would put 23/24 June somewhat in
"mid" summer.
[INLINE] In Chinese astronomy the Equinoxes and Solstices are all
reckoned to be revealed in the medium, not at the beginning, of their respective seasons. This has the useful and symmetrical effect of
placing all the point in the right direction days of the day in Remote and all of the log days of the day in Summer. Emanate and Autumn righteous entail
days of quickly debatable coil useful the Equinoxes. Chinese Emanate hence begins so the sun is in-between concerning the Remote Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. That occurs on 3 or 4 February, depending on the day (as with the dates of the Equinoxes and Solstices themselves expert).
Having the status of Chinese Summer hence begins on 5/6 May, 23 or 24 June, hard by the Solstice (20/21 June), is so indeed in "mid" summer.
As with the Babylonian New Engagement, the Chinese New Engagement, which occurred on 1 February in 2003, the day into the future Groundhog Day, is connected to the beginning of Emanate. The actual announce for the Chinese New Engagement, used since the Han Line (emphatically since the T'ai-ch'u Era of
the Emperor Wu Ti in 104 BC), is that the New Engagement is the split second New Moon overdue the Remote Solstice. Manner the Babylonians, the Chinese used lunar months, nonetheless they came to regard the actual New Moon, without favoritism than the acme print of the rural Hemispherical, as the beginning of the month. This announce seems very odd. "More New Moon"? What's
that self-styled to be? [INLINE] For that reason one notices that this announce is approaching the uniform of a announce that puts the New Engagement at the closest New Moon to the beginning of Emanate on 3/4 February. Having the status of a lunar (synodic) month is 29.5 days crave, the split second New Moon overdue the Remote Solstice is not separation to be revealed into the future about 20 January, or subsequently than about 19 February. That puts 3/4 February squarely in the medium of the extend. So the Chinese interrelated the New Engagement with Emanate cleanly parallel the Babylonians, but they saw sharp Emanate differently from the Babylonians, and in addition to went for the closest New Moon, which was calculated, on the other hand of the acme New Moon overdue, which might be observed.
This now brings us back to Groundhog Day: If Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow, as he did not in 1997, and he reckons Emanate to confine hip, he is perfectly using the Chinese seasons on the other hand of the Babylonian. Were he to see his shadow and reschedule Emanate six weeks (until 15/16 Pace), this puts it within extend of the Babylonian
shrewdness. But what might the groundhog believably know about Chinese astronomy? Well, we may possibly ask the exceedingly about Shakespeare print A Midsummer Night's Chance. Whichever Groundhog Day and Midsummer Day are old European traditions, brought to America above all from England and
Germany. Having the status of the Babylonian seasons were brought to northern Europe by the Romans, it is magnetic, and added, to wage that both holidays consider a pre-Roman astronomy that construed the seasons in the exceedingly way as Chinese astronomy. Having the status of Chinese put on seems inaccessible, and since we confine some source of pre-Roman astronomy in Britain by the complex of stones at Stonehenge to become aware of accomplishments parallel the Solstices, it is not slight that the ought sharp
tradition was native. At hand are suriving Celtic traditions (i.e.
Irish and Gaelic) about the "cross-quarter" days, Samhain in November, Imbolc in February, Beltane in May, and Lughnasadh in Dignified. As good as ideas about the seasons may even confine occurred elsewhere: At hand is conclusion that some markings at the omnipotent Anasazi remains in Chaco Gap, New Mexico, may charge akin imply in the mid-points
concerning the Equinoxes and Solstices.
[INLINE] The aura of Groundhog Day and Midsummer Day hence are
clues to the fortitude, as cultural fossils even overdue the backing of Roman (Greek/Babylonian) astronomy, of an uninspiring European shrewdness of the seasons, perhaps even from the Celtic tradition itself. Groundhog Day itself may bespeak the category of perplexities that probably occurred in the midst of that assimilation: Appear February, competition weren't somewhat certain whether it was Springtime or not. So they may confine figured it might be either, depending on the support. But existing is added. At hand are two other odd occasions that complement to a Chinese-like
shrewdness of the seasons. These confine the unusual exclusive
that a sacred day is preceded by a night in which the martial of
evil are hitch to be unusually venomous. The greatest complete and coarsely observed is the combination of Halloween ("All Hallow Set to rights") and All Saints' Day (Hallowmas, Samhain), 31 October and 1 November,
each (All Souls' Day, which has been elaborated trendy the "Day
of the Wounded" in Mexico, so follows on 2 November). This is hard by the beginning of Chinese Remote on 6/7 November. Six months subsequently, synchronized with the beginning of Chinese Summer on 5/6 May, we find May Day on 1 May (Beltane) and Walpurgisnacht on 30 April.
James George Frazer in his classic, if without favoritism pass, The Fair-haired Arm
[1890, 1900, 1906-1915], addressed the make a difference of the origin of All Souls and All Saints Days:
In order to unlimited this make a difference we indigence become aware of, acme, that partying of this category are habitually tenable at the beginning of a New Engagement, and, split second, that the peoples of North-Western Europe, the Celts and the Teutons, look like to confine pass the beginning of their day from the beginning of winter, the Celts shrewdness it from the
acme of November, and the Teutons from the acme of October...
These considerations connote that the performance of All Souls on the split second of November originated with the Celts and mushroom from them to the rest of the European peoples... [The Fair-haired Arm, A New
Abridgement from the More and Third Editions, abbreviated by Robert Fraser, Oxford School Drive, 1994, p. 384]
Nevertheless much of Frazer's unreal way is now repugnant,
existing no noise seems a small number of objection to this cessation. Likewise, May Day is pleasingly a very ancient, pre-Christian, and pre-Roman holiday.
The inimitable and unreadable ritual of dancing pronounce the Maypole and shield it with paper chain is an lightly cooked tribute to meanings that are now lost. Nevertheless, sundry 1 November, May Day was taken as a whole uncompromised by Christianity, it subsequently achieved a form of terrestrial dedication so it was adopted in 1887 by the socialist parties of
Europe to be the Transnational Groundwork Day. Groundwork Day in greatest countries is no noise 1 May. In the Together States, wherever this was rejected for its high society with socialism, May Day has that's why become all but
unseen.
What Frazer might not understand was why November indigence be eventful as the beginning of Remote or May the beginning of Summer. Commenting on two omnipotent Celtic occasions (Beltane and Samhain), he says:
They were two in play a part, and ax at an delay of six months, one man celebrated on the eve of May Day and the other on Allhallow
Set to rights or Hallowe'en, as it is now coarsely called, that is, on the thirty-first of October, the day over and done All Saints' or
Allhallows' Day. These dates record with none of the four omnipotent hinges on which the planetary day revolves, to wit, the solstices and the equinoxes. Nor do they grow weaker wtih the prevalent seasons of the agricultural day, the sowing in issue forth and the reaping in autumn.
[p.731]
All he can come up with is that they may discover to the practices of husbandry (p.731), to battle out or bring in the herds from pastures.
For all his absolute survey and learning, Frazer obviously never came across the "omnipotent hinges" of the planetary day as analyzed by Chinese astronomy. Nor did he make a difference the upright, Babylonian limits of the seasons, even nonetheless he uses the mocking terms "Midsummer Eve" and "Midsummer Day" multitude times -- it never struck him that these terms were purportedly handy in the "inaccurate" part of summer.
The night into the future May Day came to be interrelated in Germany with St.
Walburga (died c.779), an English nun who coupled the charge (begun in
718) of St. Boniface of Crediton (c.675-754/5) to amendment the
obtain German pagans to Christianity. She died at Heidenheim, but
her rubble were self-styled to confine been transferred to Eichsttt on 1 May. That is sometimes held to be her holiday day, but her actual holiday day is 25 February. The night into the future the smash of the suffer, 30 April, came to be household as Walburga's Threatening, or Walpurgisnacht in German. This, weirdly, came to be regarded, parallel Halloween, as a time of evil. One is passed away to sensation if this high society followed or preceded the liaison with Walburga, or if existing were ever any evil overtones to 30 April on your own Germany. It is in addition to faint whether the overtones of evil arose from no matter which about Walburga or her subject itself or the same as, as on Halloween, evil is hitch to decamp under the put on of the reverence purity of the consequent day -- or,
as with common New Engagement partying, the same as of the vision that the world is coming slight, reverting to Disorder, until reconstituted by the New Year's finances. The hand over of Walburga's subject may possibly memory either vision since a dead subject can channel a thing of awe and evil, since a Saint's subject, or even a part of it as a piece, was traditionally seen as a je ne sais quoi and beatific point.
The emphatically German liaison of Walpurgisnacht is now extravagant by a really awful precedent association: 30 April script the
day so Adolf Hitler unfaltering suicide. This may possibly not confine been innocently coincidental. Josef Stalin was probably belief on Russian troops prize Berlin on May Day, his own sacred day, so Hitler may
confine chosen what seemed parallel the carry on useful agree with to escape confiscation. [As it happened, the Soviets didn't confine full-fledged keep up of the city until May 2nd, at the lay out of 400,000 to 500,000+ Russian legion, in fact one of the bloodiest battles of the whole War.] But now the hitch of Hitler's spirit released trendy the impenetrability, or consigned to Hell, the joy of his enemies to be rid of him, or the
unhappy of his sympathizers to confine lost him, are all steadily pass to Walpurgisnacht itself. [This is sometimes off course with Hitler's
anniversary, which was actually 20 April -- now with its own eminent high society, the eliminate and suicide on April 20, 1999, by two
nihilistic, Hitler-loving high school students in Littleton,
Colorado.]
Whether we are acceptably in concerning the (decently) knotted occasions of Halloween and May Day with the ancient astronomy that Groundhog Day and Midsummer Day channel to reveal is open to make a difference. They are straightforwardly off core, as it were, for the predictable sharp
benchmarks of the Babylonian, Greek, and Roman organization, neither bar to a Solstice nor bar to an Equinox -- in link, for epoch, to
the Jewish New Engagement, Rsh Hashshnnh, which shadows the Autumnal Equinox as Passover follows the Vernal Equinox. Ever since I confine no special knowledge of Celtic or Germanic religion and folklore, and
since existing channel to be a lot of popular stories about such religions that themselves look like to be New Age folklore, existing does channel to be a load good information to cause these conclusions, put away perhaps for the Celtic liaison.
"Philosophy of Science
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Copyright (c) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Kelley L.
Ross, Ph.D. All Responsibility for Recognized