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CANDLEMAS WEATHER ORACLE
Russian Orthodox · Russia
“Sretenie: if the bear sees his shadow, winter has forty more days.”
INTERPRETATION
The Russian 'Meeting of the Lord' (Sretenie) falls on February 15 in the Julian calendar. The bear emerging from its den mirrors the Western groundhog tradition, but forty days takes winter to the equinox.
RELATED DATE
February 15 (Julian) / February 2 (Gregorian) — Sretenie Gospodne
Russian folk tradition combining Orthodox liturgy with pagan bear-worship