Groundhog Day is one of the popular national holidays in America and Canada. Many people know about this day from the movie of the same name. Well, what is the main idea of such an unusual holiday and where it originates from, you can find out right now.
Groundhog Day - Is Spring Nearby?
Every year on February 2, residents of America and Canada hold celebrations with the participation of our smaller local brothers - marmots. Almost every town has its own meteorological marmots, who notify when spring warming is coming.
Note: The famous film Groundhog Day was filmed in the city of Punxsutawney.
On this day, it is necessary to observe his behavior, namely, whether he will get out of his hole or not. If in cloudy weather the marmot, without seeing its own shadow, calmly leaves the house, then early spring is foreshadowed. If on a sunny day he gets scared at the sight of his own shadow and comes back - you should wait for spring no earlier than 6 weeks later.
The history of the holiday - Groundhog Day
The history of this holiday begins with the Gregorian calendar, since February 2 is a solemn day when Christians celebrate the Presentation of the Lord (Thunders). Believing popular wisdom, if the weather is clear and sunny on this day, there will definitely be a long winter. As Americans like to say, If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year (this is a Scottish proverb, literally it sounds like this: “The Day of Meeting is clear and cloudless - there will be two winters a year”).
As for meteorological predictions by various animals, it dates back to the time of the existence of Ancient Rome. The ancient Romans used the hedgehog only as a meteorologist. On February 2, they woke up this prickly animal and watched whether he saw his own shadow or not. Later, this tradition was adopted by the peoples of Western Europe. Only, for example, in North Germany, depending on the region, instead of a hedgehog, they watched the behavior of a badger or a bear.
A marmot named Staten Island Chuck lives in the zoo on Staten Island. Every year 2.02 at exactly 7.30 he makes his forecast.
And in the 18th century, immigrants from Germany, who were called the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought this meteorological tradition to America. But given the fact that there are no hedgehogs or badgers in North America, the marmot has become the main animal meteorologist. In 1886, Groundhog Day was officially recognized as a national American holiday.
The most popular meteorological marmots
The 7 most popular meteorological marmots live in the USA and Canada:
- Punxsuton Phil - the first officially recognized meteorologist living on Turkey Mountain in the city of Punxsutawney (Pennsylvania);
- Viarton Willie - a well-known meteorologist of Canada, or rather the village of Viarton (Ontario);
- Staten Island Chuck - Official Groundhog Meteorologist in New York
- the seven leaders are closed by marmots Shubenacadskiy Sam, Balzacskiy Billy, Marmot Jimmy and General Beauregard Lee.
