Groundhog Day by Gerri Brousseau

In the United States and Canada, February 2nd is the date Groundhog Day is celebrated.  Now that Wikipedia is back, I went to find out a little bit of info about this obscure holiday.  It seems folklore tells us if the day is cloudy the groundhog will burrow, signifying the end of winter.  If the day is sunny, the groundhog will see his shadow, become afraid, and pull back into his burrow thus indicating six more weeks of winter.

Some towns in the US go "hog" wild (pun totally intended) with celebration of this event.  In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (I guess that's sort of like the Moose Lodge or Elks Club) celebrate with social events where food is served, speeches are made and one or more plays or skits are performed.  In one town only German is spoke at the event and anyone who speaks English must pay a fine in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken.

Of course, we New Englanders are familiar with the largest Groundhog Celebration which receives worldwide attention when Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his borrow.

This holiday began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central PA in the 18th century, however, it bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolic, the seasonal turning pointy of the Celtic calendar.  (No surprise there)

In the United States reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry dated February 4, 1841 where the celebration is referred to as Candlemas Day.  Looking into what Candlemas Day was, I discovered it is the celebration of the day the infant Jesus was presented at the temple.  I also discovered there is even reference to the tradition of Candlemas in Scotland.

Did you know that Connecticut has its very own furry predictor?  Being a resident of Connecticut, I was excited to discover "Chuckles" is the name of our Groundhog, who resides in Manchester.  He took up residence there in 2010 and for the past two years his predictions have been in agreement with his famous cousin from Punxsutawny.  It will be interesting to note if they are in agreement again this year.

Whether we take heed to the activities of these critters or not, be assured that Spring is just around the corner regardless of the fact that we have hardly even had a winter this year.

Do you follow the activities of the Groundhog, do you rely on The Farmer's Almanac or do you simply go with the flow?

Filed under: romance