The Bear Wakes Up

There is one twist on that old groundhog day legend that goes like this: “When the bear sees his shadow at Candlemas; he will crawl back into his hole for another six weeks.”

In Croatia and Serbia, Orthodox Christians have a tradition that on February 2 (Candlemas) or February 15 (Sretenje, The Meeting of the Lord), the bear will awaken from hibernation, and if it sees (meets) its own shadow in this sleepy and confused state, it will get scared and go back to sleep for an additional 40 days, thus prolonging the winter. But, if a bear does not see his shadow, he will remain outside, which means that hibernation period is over and that spring will soon start.

Thus, if it is sunny on Sretenje, it is a sign that the winter is not over yet. If it is cloudy, it is a good sign that the winter is about to end. Romania and Hungary also watch for bear shadows on February 2.