Today Phil saw his shadow, and according to legend that means the remaining days of winter will be harsh... in other words, it won't be an early spring.
I don't know about you, but I haven't the foggiest clue why there is a "Groundhog's day" or why it's held on February 2nd, so I decided to research it.
According to Stormfax® the holiday was brought from Germany and was originally called "Candlemas". It was held on February 2nd, because this is "mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox". Apparently before the groundhog was introduced to the date, it was determined that if the weather was nice (sunny and warm) on February 2nd, then the remaining 6 weeks would be harsh, and if it was bad (cold, cloudy, and yucky) on the 2nd, then the rest of the winter would be mild. When the tradition merged with the native American Indian beliefs of the Punxsutawney area, then all of the components were ready to create Groundhog's day. The celebration of Groundhog's day started in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in 1886, and it's been repeated every year since then. Today many people accross the country tune in to find out whether the groundhog named Phil from Punxsutawney will see his shadow when he comes out of his "home" on February 2nd.
Today Phil came out wearing a Steelers Terrible Towel, but after seeing his shadow, he "peed" on the towel, in fright. I am hoping that isn't predicting a bad outcome to the upcoming SuperBowl... But that's another topic!
Ramblings for readers, who enjoy a person rambling on about nothing, or something, depending the mood of the person rambling, or the mood of the reader who finds something worth reading about, or possibly rambling on about themselves in a comment to the rambling... I could go on, but I think I have made my point!
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Groundhog Day
Today Phil saw his shadow, and according to legend that means the remaining days of winter will be harsh... in other words, it won't be an early spring.
I don't know about you, but I haven't the foggiest clue why there is a "Groundhog's day" or why it's held on February 2nd, so I decided to research it.
According to Stormfax® the holiday was brought from Germany and was originally called "Candlemas". It was held on February 2nd, because this is "mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox". Apparently before the groundhog was introduced to the date, it was determined that if the weather was nice (sunny and warm) on February 2nd, then the remaining 6 weeks would be harsh, and if it was bad (cold, cloudy, and yucky) on the 2nd, then the rest of the winter would be mild. When the tradition merged with the native American Indian beliefs of the Punxsutawney area, then all of the components were ready to create Groundhog's day. The celebration of Groundhog's day started in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in 1886, and it's been repeated every year since then. Today many people accross the country tune in to find out whether the groundhog named Phil from Punxsutawney will see his shadow when he comes out of his "home" on February 2nd.
Today Phil came out wearing a Steelers Terrible Towel, but after seeing his shadow, he "peed" on the towel, in fright. I am hoping that isn't predicting a bad outcome to the upcoming SuperBowl... But that's another topic!
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