There are many important 'days;' such as Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Labor Day, and Veteran's Day. The, there's one holiday in my mind that just doesn't fit in- February 2nd, Groundhog Day! It really confuses me! It is really important enough to print on all the calendars and make such a fuss about? And why of all days was February 2nd chosen? Out of all the animals, why a groundhog and not a mole or a weasel? What's the story behind this? Eventually these questions bugged me, as I know they have done to you, so I checked out the encyclopedia for some answers. This is basically what it said. Groundhog Day is a custom that originated in Germany and Great Britain and was later brought to the United States. They used the groundhog as a weather forecaster. Supposedly Mr. Groundhog would wake up from his long winter's nap on February 2nd and do one of two things. First, if the sun was shining and he saw his shadow, he got scared and ran away, which means six more weeks of winter. The second is that if it was cloudy, he didn't see his shadow and stayed outside, which meant that spring was on its way. Then comes the final piece of the puzzle- the last sentence in the article, which reads, "Science has not confirmed this method." Well, NO KIDDING!
This paragraph answered some basic questions, but still there are many that will forever go unanswered. Groundhog Day is just a fun and lighthearted event that links people throughout the globe and gives them something humorous to talk about! Have you noticed how the outcome makes headlines throughout the US? People seem to ask; "Did the Groundhog see his shadow?" as you would ask "Did the astronauts land safely on Mars?" It's like it is a matter of life or death and you can't continue on without this earth shaking news.
In my opinion he is a cute little guy and they should continue with his fun weather forecasts!
