Next: 2 Feb 2027
Groundhog Day
A groundhog is watched on 2 February to see whether it sees its shadow, taken as a forecast of six more weeks of winter.
About Groundhog Day
The custom came to Pennsylvania with German settlers, who had watched a badger or a hedgehog for the same sign on Candlemas. In the United States the groundhog took over, and Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, has held its public ceremony since the 1880s. If the animal sees its shadow and goes back into its burrow, six more weeks of winter are announced; if it does not, an early spring. Meteorologists find the record of the forecasts about as good as chance, and the event is now kept as a good-humoured town festival and a media occasion. Canada has its own weather animals, such as Wiarton Willie in Ontario.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: Candlemas (The European date it grew from.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Groundhog Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.