Groundhog's Day

    Every February 2nd we wake up and want to know, did the groundhog see his shadow?  If he did we sigh as there will supposedly now be six more weeks of winter and if he didn't we get excited and anticipate an early spring.  Isn't it funny that we let a groundhog predict our future weather as if it is trained in meteorology?  How did this tradition come to be?  I looked online and found out a little more about this holiday.

    Groundhog's day is February 2nd because this is Candlemas day for Christians.  On this day in Europe the Christian clergymen would hand out candles to people for use during the winter and they would also offer blessings.  The Europeans believed that if it was sunny on Candlemas day that this would mean six more weeks of winter.  The Germans then added the idea of an animal being scared of its shadow would lead to six more weeks of winter and at first they used hedgehogs not ground hogs.  In the 18th century, when Germans brought this idea with them to America, they started using groundhogs because they were abundant in America. 

    in America we celebrate groundhogs day with the famous Punxsutawney Phil, who of course lives in Punsxutawney, Pennsylvania.  People will go each year and watch this groundhog emerge to either see or not see his shadow.  Punxsutawney Phil was started by a local newspaper editor and has predicted the weather for 126 years!  He has seen his shadow 99 times and not seen it 16 times (9 years of data is missing).
   Groundhogs day is a fun little celebration to brighten up the winter and since its started there have been many groundhogs trying to predict the weather including one who bit the New York City mayor.

Information from:
http://www.local10.com/weather/History-of-Groundhog-Day/-/1717142/8581658/-/ywv6ybz/-/

Picture from:
http://www.local10.com/weather/History-of-Groundhog-Day/-/1717142/8581658/-/ywv6ybz/-/