February 2, 2010
Another February second, another groundhog day. The great Ontario groundhog woke up this morning, scratched his arm pits, asked for a cuppa Joe and looked down and saw his shadow. Once he was well caffeinated, he proclaimed that spring is still six-weeks away and went back to bed. I have always been confused with the seen-unseen shadow thing. I mean, surely if it's sunny out he will see his shadow, but shouldn't that mean the clear skies and sun would indicate an early spring? And if this groundhog is so smart, can he predict when the prorogue of government will end? Or perhaps some insight on economic forecasting? And what kind of credentials does Willy have? Rumor has it that he has a a meteorology degree from the University of Phoenix online, but this is yet to be confirmed. Today's question is: what is the origin of groundhog day?
A: The tradition of Groundhog day is celebrated in North America on February 2nd. It stems from the Christian celebration of Candlemas, a festival that celebrates the Virgin Mary's presentation of the baby Jesus 40 days after his birth. Christians would light blessed candles, although it was also believed that a clear day on Candlemas predicted an extended winter. Romans also believed that conditions during the first days of February were good predictors of future weather, using hedgehogs as the weather forcasters. The traditions were medled in Germany, where a hedgehog being frightened by his shadow on Candlemas would foretell that winter would last another six weeks. German settlers brought this tradition to the United States, using the native hedgehog, or woodchuck, as their predictors.
Sources:
National Geographic: Groundhog day 2010
The Holiday Spot: Groundhog day origin
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