February 2. That’s what.

I always thought that Groundhog’s Day was a little slice of Americana, as preciously bizarre as Super Bowl Sunday. A sweet little rural tradition that hardly threatens the good Christians of the land.

But little did I know that it is in fact strongly linked to the pagan holiday of candlemas, or the festival of lights (yeah, I thought that was Hannukah too). On this day, you’re apparently supposed to light as many candles as you can and meditate on all of the people who have passed on. It was of course hijacked by Christians in the Middle Ages who introduced the idea of a “blessed candle” that you are supposed to use to light all of the rest.

In France, the days is called “Chandeleur” and it is known more commonly as the Day of Crepes. According to French agrarian legends, if you are holding gold (a coin) in one hand and you can successfully flip the crepe with the other hand, then the next harvest will be copious. For all of the non-hick brethren, a successful flip simply bodes good luck for the year. For unmarried women, the only way to get a man is to successfully flip the crepe six—gasp! Six!—times in a row. And furthermore, an overcast February 2nd indicates an additional 40 days of winter. A clear day…you guessed it, spring is just around the corner.

For more on how to celebrate Chandeleur, check out the eHow article "How to celebrate La Chandeleur"

Or follow these instructions to make it a hybrid, super holiday:

1/ Tune in to Punxatawny Phil in the morning

2/ In the evening, invite your friends over for a crepe party.

3/ Light all of the candles you can get your hands on (I don't think they have to be blessed, but if you're into that, stop by the church on your way home).

4/ Get to the crepe making and flipping.

5/ After you've eaten your little pancakes of good fortune, pop in that existential Harold Ramis classic "Groundhog Day" and settle in.

This has been another odd holiday report. Mandounette signing off.