Groundhog Day
Photo by Chris Michlewicz
While this Hidden Pointe resident is a prairie dog and not a groundhog – although from the same squirrel family of rodents (Sciuridae) – he reminds us that February 2 is Groundhog Day.
According to the oracle that is Wikipedia, Groundhog Day is “a popular North American tradition observed in the U.S. and Canada, derived from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; but if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.”
While the ceremony held in Pennsylvania that centers around the mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil remains popular in modern times, studies have found no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.
