Eagle's Nest
February 2018
Valentine's Day
Love, Cupid/angels, hearts, chocolates, cards and flowers are everywhere because Valentine’s Day is coming up soon! Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14th.
Where does Valentine’s Day originate from?
Valentine’s Day originated as a Western Christian Liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus. Several stories are associated with this day. One includes a popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome. According to this story, Saint Valentine was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. As the legend states, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” (which is a popular line still being used today). Other legends suggest that he was imprisoned for helping Christians escape Roman prisons. While some people say that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to honor Valentine’s burial, others say that it was an attempt to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia (festival held to honor the Roman god of agriculture, Fanus).
Valentine’s Day Greetings
Valentine’s Day is also celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day was first celebrated around the seventeenth century. By then, people started making handmade valentines. Then in the 1840’s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first valentines in America. He made stunning valentines out of real lace, ribbons and vivid pictures. Because of his divine creations, he was known as “The Mother of Valentines”. Then a while later, people became fond of Howland’s valentines. So students started handing out valentines to their classmates. But by the 1900’s, printed cards replaced handmade cards due to improvements in printing technology. Below are some fascinating and educational facts about this unique celebration. Enjoy, and have a sweet Valentine’s Day!
Did You Know?......
About 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making it the second most popular card sending holiday after Christmas (2.6 billion cards).
King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of Valentine’s Day in 1537.
In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card.
In Finland, Valentine’s Day is more about celebrating friendship, not love.
According to the Greeting Card Association, about one billion valentine cards are sent each year.
Over 50% of Valentine cards are bought at least six days before Valentines Day.
The Cupid, originates as the Roman god of love.
Groundhogs Day
Chuck-chuck! What famous groundhog is making that sound? If you guessed Punxsutawney Phil, then you are correct! Groundhogs Day is a popular tradition celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2nd. The Groundhogs Day ceremony is held at Punxsutawney in Central Pennsylvania.
What Happens on Groundhogs Day?
Do you like winter or spring better? Well it doesn’t matter because on Groundhogs Day, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil comes out of the ground and looks for his shadow. If he sees it, then the groundhog digs back into his little den and sleeps for another six weeks until it is spring. If he doesn’t see it, then spring is here! Some legends say that on Groundhogs Day, the weather is always mild and wet. However, others say that the weather is frigid and snowy.
How it All Started
The groundhog was considered by the Germans to be their ancestral grandfather. When the German settlers arrived in the 1700s, they brought a tradition with them known as Candlemas Day. Candlemas Day has an early origin in the pagan celebration of Imbolc. It came at the midpoint between the winter Solstice and the spring Equinox.
The First Groundhogs Day
The first reported Groundhogs Day was held at the “Punxsutawney Elks Lodge” in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on the year 1887. Later in 1889, they had a groundhog themed feast that included a drink called the “Groundhog Punch.” The flavor has been described as across between pork and chicken. Yuck! Although that may seem gross, some people actually loved it and started calling it meat juice. Back then, if the groundhog got scared by his shadow and ran back into his den, that would signal six more weeks of winter.
Great Groundhog Facts
Did you know that the average groundhog is twenty inches long and weighs twelve to fifteen pounds? Wow, that is heavy!
Did you know that some groundhogs have red fur instead of brown fur? Be careful not to mistaken them with another animal!
A groundhog’s diet contains little water.
A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. That is kind of like when a beaver slaps its tail on the water signaling danger.
The groundhog is 75% to 90% right in his winter predictions. Looks like groundhogs are sharp guessers!
Groundhogs have really sharp teeth that they use to bite on hard foods. If they don’t bite on hard foods, their mouth might grow shut.
Punxsutawney Phil was found by a group of groundhog hunters and the Punxsutawney newspaper editor declared that he was the only groundhog that could predict the weather.
Conclusion
Groundhogs day is a lot different now than it was in the 1880’s, but some traditions still stick around. This year the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow. We hope you learned a lot about this special occasion. Enjoy your six more weeks of winter and happy Groundhogs Day!
Editor in Chief
Writers
Levy Le
Paige Becker
Sydney Statler
William Payne