Below you can read some articles about these holidays.

While we wait to see if the groundhog will see his shadow, remember the proverb from Guinea: “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”

Mama Lisa

Here’s the famous saying that’s told on this day…

MP3 Recording of Groundhog Saying

If the groundhog sees his shadow
We will have six more weeks of Winter.
If he doesn’t see his shadow,
We will have an early Spring.

The groundhog did see his shadow, so we’re in for the long haul. (We were anyway, so don’t feel too badly about it.) You can watch Punxsutawney Phil make his Groundhog Day Prediction for 2010 below…

While you’re waiting for the winter to pass, why not watch the movie Groundhog Day (one more time if you’re like me). It’s great fun!

Many thanks to Jason Pomerantz for reciting the Groundhog saying for us!

Stay warm.

Mama Lisa

You can read more about Groundhog Day below…

Don’t feel bad, it’d still be 6 more weeks of winter whether he saw his shadow or not. Cause the reality is, we still have six weeks to go till Spring.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Lisa

P.S. Don’t forget to eat pancakes, like they do for Candlemas!

Here’s another song from France about eating crêpes, in French, with an English translation, and a midi. After that you’ll find a recipe for making basic crêpes, with a couple of suggestions about what to fill them with.

An MP3 of Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous – When We Make Crepes at Our House
A Midi of Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous – When We Make Crêpes at Our House

Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous

Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous, ma mèr’ vous invite
Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous, ell’ vous invite tous
Un’ pour toi, un’ pour moi, un’ pour mon p’tit frèr’ François
Un’ pour toi, un’ pour moi, un’ pour tous les trois.

When We Make Crêpes at Our House

When we make crêpes at our house, my mom invites you
When we make crêpes at our house, she invites you all
One for you, one for me, one for my little brother Francois
One for you, one for me, one for all three of us.

Here’s a basic recipe for crêpes…

Basic Crêpe Recipe (makes about 8 crepes)

1 c. Flour*
2 Eggs
1 ¼ c. Milk
2 T. Butter, Melted (unsalted butter can be used for dessert crêpes)
¼ t. Salt for dinner crêpes (only a pinch of salt for dessert crêpes)
1 T. Sugar (for dessert crêpes only)
Butter or oil for cooking

*For Buckwheat crêpes use ½ c. flour and ½ c. buckwheat flour instead of 1 c. flour

You can either mix all ingredients in a blender, food processor or with a whisk till smooth. It’s best to let the batter sit for ½ hour before cooking. You can add a little more milk or a little water if you find the batter is too thick.

Use a skillet that’s about 6 – 8″ in diameter. (I used an 8″ pan and got 8 fairly large crêpes.) Put about ½ to 1 teaspoon of butter in the bottom of the pan, enough to coat it. Melt on medium high heat.

Pour in about 2-3 T. batter and tilt or gently swirl the pan so that the batter covers the whole bottom of the skillet. Cook on one side until golden brown. Flip. Cook the other side till it starts to become golden, which should happen quickly, and remove from heat. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the batter.

If you’re going to store the crêpes in the fridge, you can put wax paper between them to keep them from sticking together .

Btw – Most people end up throwing out the first crêpe or two the first time they make them.

Here are some different ways to fold the crêpes…

(Always put the better-looking side of the crêpe on the outside.)

1) Rolled – Put filling on one end of the crêpe and roll it up, sort of like a cigar. (You may eat them this way by hand – usually good with a thin filling.)
2) Folded in Half – Put filling on one side and fold over in half (usually eaten with a fork)
3) Folded in Threes – Put filling in middle of crêpe, fold the left third side over and then the right side over. (Usually eaten with a fork.)
4) Folded in Fours – Just like folding in threes, but then also fold over the bottom and top (can be eaten by hand.)
5) Folded as a Triangle – Put filling on half of crêpe and fold the crêpe over in half, then fold in half again.
6) Layered – Put filling on whole crêpe, put another crêpe on top – you can keep layering as long as you want! This would usually be done with thinner fillings.
7) Folded like a Burrito – Put filling in middle, fold over two opposite ends about 1 inch, and roll over the crêpe starting at the side, till it’s completly rolled up.

Here are Some Ideas for Crêpe Fillings:

Savory Crêpes (or Dinner Crêpes)

Ham and Gruyere or Swiss Cheese Crêpes – Cube ham and fry, place in crêpe with shredded cheese and place in warm oven, at 300 F, to melt. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Cover if needed to prevent the crêpes from drying out. (A variation is to make this with chopped tomatoes.)

Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese – Sautee mushrooms in a little butter. Place in crêpe and top with cheese. Fold crepe and place in warm oven, at 300 F, to melt cheese. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Cover if needed to prevent the crêpes from drying out. (A variation is to make this with chopped tomatoes.)

Spinach and Goat Cheese – Sautee spinach. Spread goat cheese on crêpe, top with spinach and fold.

***

Dessert Crêpes (some of these could be good for breakfast too!)

Apple Cinnamon and Walnut Crêpes – Sautee chopped apples and walnuts in a little butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Scoop mixture onto crêpe and fold.

Lemon and Powered Sugar Crêpes – Sprinkle confectioners sugar on crêpe and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on top. Fold and eat!

Your Favorite Jam Crêpes – Simply smear the crêpe with jelly, fold over or roll and top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Nutella and Whipped Cream Crêpe – Spread nutella on crêpe, top with a dollop of whipped cream and fold up.

Banana and Nutella Crêpes – Spread nutella on crepe, and top with thinly sliced bananas. Fold crêpe and enjoy!

Sugared Crêpes – Sprinkle crêpe with sugar and fold or roll up. These work well if you want to eat them by hand.

Ice Cream Crêpe – Put vanilla ice cream on crêpe, some hot chocolate syrup and whipped cream and fold it up.

Hot Fudge and Strawberry Crêpes – Clean and slice strawberries and place on crêpe, cover with hot fudge and a dollop of whip cream. Fold and enjoy!

You can see that your imagination is the only limit when it comes to making crêpes!

Bon Appétit!

Lisa

Many thanks to Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français for sending me the song, the midi, for help with the translation and for some delicious suggestions for crêpe fillings! Many thanks to Edit’ Dupont for singing this song for us!

Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World France page for more French children’s songs with their English translations and…

Mama Lisa’s World en français for children’s songs around the world with their French translations.

Both seem to have developed from an ancient Celtic festival called Imbolc. Imbolc festivities involved lighting fires, in part in honor of Brigid, the Goddess of fertility, love and fire. Imbolc also celebrated the fact that the days would become longer and the sun stronger over the next few months.

Candlemas, Groundhog Day and Imbolc are all celebrated at the mid point between the Winter Solstice and the first day of Spring. They all involve the hope of good weather for the next 6 weeks… the remainder of winter.

I suppose this is why pancakes and crepes are the preferred foods for Candlemas… they’re round and yellow, like the longed for sun.

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s hard to remember how the weather on this day predicts the weather for the rest of the winter, it’s because all of the Candlemas and Groundhog Day sayings are counterintuitive. They say that if the weather is nice on February 2nd the rest of the winter will be colder, more severe. If the weather on the 2nd is crummy, the rest of the winter is supposed to have nice weather.

As for the groundhog, if he sees his shadow, that means it’s a sunny day on February 2nd and the myth is that the rest of the winter will be colder. So we all hope he will not see his shadow and that February 2nd will have miserable weather!

For Christians, Candlemas is the day that candles are blessed in churches. Another symbol of fire! So people put lit candles in their windows in honor of the day.

Lastly, this day is called the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. It was believed that after giving birth women were unclean. They had to be purified 40 days after their child was born. Thus Candlemas is 40 days after Jesus was born, when Mary would have been purified.

Here are some rhymes and proverbs for Candlemas and groundhog day…

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight

If on Candlemas Day it be shower and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.

If Candlemas Day be damp and black,
It will carry cold winter away on its back.

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year.

If the groundhog sees his shadow
We will have six more weeks of Winter.
If he doesn’t see his shadow,
We will have an early Spring.

Groundhog Day Half your Hay

(Meaning you’d better have half of your hay left to feed the animals, because you’re only half-way through the winter)

Happy Candlemas and Happy Groundhog Day!

Lisa