It's Ground hog day

LOL. I always loved this day, although it never really effected where I lived, considering I grew up in Sunny Florida, and lived most of my adult life in the Sunny South. today, the prediction was for snow, that's a joke, there was no snow, but there was rain. I look out my office window and it is a beautiful sunny day now. It is not coled, but comfortable.

I read that Punxsutawney Phil says it is going to be six more weeks of winter.

There is apparently a Ground hog in Huntsville, AL. Although we probably don't check to see if it saw it's shadows. Although I see that the Bham Zoo did check with their groundhog who also said 6 more weeks of Winter.

I have kept up with how cold and miserable people in the midwest and East and North have been. I noticed that they had the movie "Groundhogs day" on TV last night.

For Christians February 2 is Candlemas Day, a festival that celebrates the presentation of Christ in the Temple, Jesus’ first entry into the temple; and it celebrates the Virgin Mary’s purification (40 days after Jesus' birth.) The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus was met by Anna and Simeon. Simeon held the baby Jesus and called him a Light to the World.

Ritual purification stems back to a Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child. For 40 days for a boy, and 60 days for a girl, women weren't allowed to worship in the temple. At the end of this time, women were brought to the Temple or Synagogue to be purified. After the ceremony women were allowed to take part in religious services again.

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.

I find it interesting that on the day of Mary's purification she is then allowed to
go worship at the temple after being purified. On this day, they bring Jesus to present to the Lord. On this day there is also an older woman Anna, a prophet, who as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. I wonder what it was like for both those women that day? I wonder what went through their mind as they both saw each other? I wonder what all Anna did say, we have what Simeon said, but not the words of what Anna said. We have the jest. What did the old woman say to the young mother about being a young woman, a mother, and a wife? What did the young woman say to the older woman or even asked her? What did God have in mind in bringing these two together at this time? What effect did this have on Jesus' life and ministry? And why was this included in the scriptures? What does it say to us today?

Ground hog's day or Candlemas day, I hope it is a good day for you.