This morning, I decided to see whether Groundhog Day is another one of those holidays, like Halloween or Christmas, with roots--not in modern day phenomena like the Punxatawny, Pa., TV station's weather forecast but further back--in ancient times.
I'm very happy to report that I hit PAYDIRT. Yes, this day does have ancient roots, going at least as far back to 542 A.D. But please click the link and read this fascinating article.
Among the scientific and historical nuggets I mined from "Weather Doctor's Almanac for 1998, Celebrating Groundhog Day," I learned that the beginning of February marks the start of Solar Spring! Hooray!
In my youth (long before Bill Murray was born), we never celebrated the groundhog's first venture from his burrow (yup, HIS burrow...the Weather Doctor says female groundhogs don't come out of hibernation for quite a while yet).
We observed February 2 as Candlemas Day--the day whose most salient liturgical point was the long line of sneezing, snuffling, bundled-up children waiting to kneel two at a time at the communion rail to get our throats blessed after morning Mass. A couple of the nuns would stand at the ends of the front pews to make sure our throats were free and clear--the layers of scarves unwrapped, the topmost coat, sweater, and shirt buttons undone--so Father Walsh or Father Branconniere could stick the "X" arrangement of two candles against our necks and recite the blessing. The blessing invoked St. Blaise, patron saint of sore throats. The idea was that this actually worked, and I apologize for not researching any scientific proof.
If the blessing didn't take, however, (often) our mothers would paint our throats with MERCUROCHROME!! Mercurochrome was a sure-fire cure, but omg...that was MERCURY they were swabbing on our tonsils! Last I tried, I couldn't even BUY mercurochrome any more at the local pill, nostrum, greeting card, and whatnot emporium known as CVS. The PTB (Powers That Be) have decided dabbing mercury on our cuts is too dangerous.
It's a wonder we survived. Of course, all weather is local, which means so are all weather prognostications. Despite all the nonsense about "six weeks left of winter," etc., Groundhog Day in North Dakota was only halfway through the danger zone of the ND winter. We still had to get through February AND March, when the worst blizzards came, plus April and May, too. I have a photo of my old yellow Chrysler almost completely buried in the May Day blizzard of 1967, but of course, I can't find it now in the gazillion photos unearthed during moving....
Mercurochrome was magic for poison ivy. I think I bought some a few years ago, but can't find it now. I probably thru it away after it leaked pink all over my cabinet.
ReplyDeleteSal
Mercurochrome also known as STING! I hated that stuff. I even hated the smell. It smelled of PAIN.
ReplyDeleteMercurochrome was the only thing my Mom used on my many cuts when I was a child. Does that account for my hazy memory now? ;-).
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ReplyDeleteMercurochrome? Never heard of it. It sounds like something you could use to fix bodywork on a smashed in fender.
ReplyDeleteWiarton Willie, the little furry critter in N Ontario has predicted six more weeks of winter. I don't think I can take six more weeks, I might not even last six more DAYS of all this cold and snow.
sally: i didn't know mercurochrome worked on poison ivy!! cool! it did have the great property, however it did it, of DRYING up pus, so maybe that was at work on the blisters.
ReplyDeletepeggy: the other great property of mercurochrome was that it did not sting. at least, it never stung me or my little friends or my brothers. you may be thinking of merthiolate, which was similar and stung like hell. darlene? did it ever sting you?
darlene: ha...know what you mean!! however, all of my surviving brothers (12, 10, and 6.5 years older than yrs truly) are sharp as tacks, and they got mercurochrome from their earliest experiences with skinned knees and cuts. they also got it down the windpipe like me when they had sore throats, so it can't be the mercurochrome.
shammy: haha...it does sound like some kind of automotive beautifier/palliative. in fact, i had a skirmish in a parking spot not long ago with an old mercury, and the paint on the door of the zipcar i was driving was no match for the merc's clunky chrome bumper. so it would have been nice to have a bottle of mercurochrome to cover the booboo. (as it was, the body shop just buffed the scratch away at NO CHARGE!!) (yes, hell has frozen over.)
Oh gawwwwwd. Good old St. Blaise!!! I haven't been through that ritual in years.
ReplyDeleteMecurochrome turned up at our house on skinned knees. Methiolate did too. It worked and was probably cheap if my mother used it. I night ask my pharmacist daughter-in-law why no mecurochrome anymore.
Don't you remember iodine? That stung like crazy and I hated when my mother discovered it. It hurt so it must have been much more effective than mild old mercurochrome! This was, of course, back in the Middle Ages. You're all too young.
ReplyDeleteMike's Mom
Kay: the FDA got involved, and it's now pretty much off the shelves everywhere.
ReplyDeleteRonnie: Iodine was the worst. My mom never had it in the house, but they sure did in the doctor's office. Yeeowwww!!! (too YOUNG??) I'm in my 70s, and my brothers are up from that.
You must mean the kids....ha.
Never heard of mercurochrome;
ReplyDeleteSeem to remember we had hydrogen peroxide poured on out cuts and scrapes....
Mercurochrome was originally allowed under the FDA GRAS (grnafathered - Generally Recognized As Safe) program till the late 90's. It was and is still a very effective antiseptic - the agent being suspended in water or alcohol. It was delisted from the GRAS list, but is not available for sale in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteIt has very minute traces of mercury, far, far less than levels found leaching out of in dental amalgam which the FDA still claims as safe! For that matter, fish may have higher mercury levels than what you could ingest in a few drops of mercurochrome.
A company could market it if they are willing to spend the money on a new drug application process. However, since patent protection is not available, there is no viable economic means to recover the expensive research investment, so we will probably not see it anytime again.
It is still available in some other countries not subject to the FDA gestapo regime of stupidity. They approve new drugs that have killed people, yet ban something as simple and arguably as harmless like mercurochrome that has been tested over generations of people over a hyperactive and very minor mercury issue.