Ground hog, groundhog day, ground hog day, ground hog day 2008, ground, groundhog
Today is Groundhog Day in North America, a day where so-called prognosticating rodents
(a.k.a. groundhogs) emerge from their burrows. Custom has it that, if they see their
shadow, winter will continue for another 6 weeks; and if they do not, there will be an
early spring. This year the US and the Canadian groundhogs differ. Pennsylvania’s
Punxsutawney Phil thinks winter will continue (but that with Bush soon out, there’s hope
yet) whereas Wiarton Willie quickly noted that Canada’s winter will soon be over and then
high-tailed it to the closest pub.
The custom of predicting future weather conditions based on animals dates back at least a
thousand years, but using the weather on February 2nd to forecast a longer winter is more
recent than that.
It was during the Dark Ages in Europe that this widespread superstition took hold. Peasants
and nobles alike noticed a strong connection between a bright, sunny, medieval Candlemas
Day and long, dreary winter weather extending into the next 6 weeks:
If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again.
In Germany, meanwhile, it was the hedgehog that played a starring role in a similar belief.
Farmers waited for late winter to watch the hibernating animal to come out of his burrow.
If the hedgehog saw his shadow on a bright, sunlit day he quickly returned to
hibernate…and thus put the official stamp on a prediction of six more weeks of winter for
German farmers.
German settlers later brought the old belief with them to Pennsylvania, replacing the
hedgehog with the more common American groundhog,
And the rest, as they say, is Groundhog Day history.
In popular culture, the 1993 film comedy Groundhog Day was a major hit for star Bill
Murray, bringing Punxsutawney Phil’s popularity to new heights.
Today, Pennsylvania-born groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is a minor celebrity. This sleepy
groundhog may be the most famous weather forecaster in the USA. Each year, the world’s
paparazzi hold vigil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2 as America waits with
frosted breath for Phil to emerge.
So… can we count on an early spring in 2008? Or will there be six more weeks of winter?
Only Punxsutawney Phil’s shadow knows…
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