Today, February 2, is the Groundhog Day. It is a very special day and very curious at the same time in which we try to know if winter will last six more weeks, or if instead spring will return depending on what Phil does, the name of the animal: if it moves away from its hideout, bad weather will persist a while longer; Instead, if you stay, then the good weather will finally return.
It is a tradition that has been celebrated in the United States and Canada more than a century ago, specifically since 1887.
Origin of Groundhog Day
This day has religious origins. It all started with Candlemas Day, a festive date for all Christians that began to be celebrated in the East, and which later spread to the West in the XNUMXth century. During this day, in Europe candles were blessed and distributed among the people. The participants declared that, if the sky was clear, the winter would lengthen. The Romans carried this tradition to the Germans, who said that If the sun appeared on February 2, a hedgehog could see its shadow and that therefore there would be a second winter.
Later the Germans who emigrated to Pennsylvania continued this peculiar festival, although they substituted hedgehogs for marmots, since they abound there. That was how it came to be called "Groundhog Day", a day that was immortalized in the movie "Trapped in Time."
But how reliable is the groundhog at forecasting the weather?
Well, marmots have a life expectancy of six years, and considering that no year is the same… it is strange to think that you can be right. In fact, the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) of the United States Agency for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA) made a study in which it was revealed that "the groundhog has shown no talent in predicting the arrival of spring, especially in recent years"As concluded by NCDC.
Be that as it may, Groundhog Day is a perfect excuse to celebrate that spring is coming soon… Or maybe not.
Happy Groundhog Day!