Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day, a February 2 holiday, is celebrated in the U.S. each year. People in Canada partake in this holiday along with people in a few other countries in the Northern Hemisphere. too. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter’s nap and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big, on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter’s day.

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. However, if he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.

The Groundhog’s Day tradition travelled a long way. It comes from German roots.  In the early 1800s, German immigrants to America brought the tradition of predicting winter weather on February 2. In their native Germany, they used Hedgehogs to predict the weather. As they settled in the hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using a groundhog to predict the arrival of Spring. The tradition is based upon Candlemas, the day that is the midpoint between Winter and Spring.

A famous Candlemas poem goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the site of the annual Groundhog event. Our little rodent friend (yes, groundhogs are classified as rodents) is called Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making this annual winter prediction since 1887. There are a few other “predictors” around the country, but they all pale in comparison to Phil’s ability to predict the remainder of winter.

For the Record: Phil sees his shadow about 9 out of 10 times.