It's Groundhog Day!

 

 

 

 

 

It's February 2  and almost feels like spring here, today.  Today is Groundhog Day, when the groundhogs in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania and Woodstock, Illinois, and all over Canada, are called upon to predict whether there will be an early spring.

 

This day is also known as Candelmas, A Catholic celebration of Christ as the light of the world, marking the lengthening days in the Northern Hemisphere.  

Imbolc is a pagan or Gaelic holiday marking this time  halfway between the winter solstice on December 21 and the spring equinox on March 20. The old calendar calls this a cross-quarter day.  It is the triumph of light over the dark part of the year. 

Groundhog Day is a festival, too, more folklore in a way. People may dress in old-fashioned costumes. There is food and dancing. too.  Some may watch the movie Groundhog Day,  set in Woodstock, Illinois

The star of the day is the groundhog, who is coaxed out of his burrow, and if he doesn't see his shadow, there will be an early spring.  If he does see his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. 

According to NOAA,  these prognostications have been right about 30% of the time.  But there is some science to this too. Long ago, people observed that animals became more active around this time.  A cloudy, overcast day without shadows would be warmer than a bright and sunny day. 

Warmer days means  warmer ground, and a longer growing season, which farmers would be hoping for. 

Have you noticed more activity among the squirrels and other animals? The other day, just before sunrise, I saw a possum in the alley.  Yes, spring is coming!

 In Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow.  It's breezy and cloudy tin Woodstock, Illinois.  The temperature feels like 41.  Woodstock Willie did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring. 

There are also Groundhog Day celebrations in Canada. According to the Globe and Mail---

Living on the East Coast, Shubenacadie Sam is typically the first groundhog in North America to issue a long-term forecast. She is followed by Quebec's Fred la Marmotte, who made the same prediction of a longer winter, and Ontario's Wiarton Wllie, who predicted an early spring.