Well, here it is February and time for Groundhog Day. It always falls on February 2nd and it traditionally marks the midpoint between the winter solstice (in December) and the spring equinox (in March.)
I usually update this blog every year on Groundhog Day and every year it reads just about the same as it did the previous year because — well, it’s Groundhog Day. This day of wonder and curiosity, based on the activities of a groundhog arising out of its winter slumber is celebrated in the United States and Canada.
The first recorded “Groundhog Day” was February 2nd, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. A local newspaper, The Punxsutawney Spirit, printed the news of the first observance…. “Today is groundhog day, and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen his shadow.” Of course the beast the paper was referring to was Punxsutawney Phil — a groundhog that resided (and still does) in a knoll called Gobbler’s Knob.
So if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there’ll be six more weeks of winter — if he doesn’t, it’ll be an early Spring. Shepherdstown Jimmy also makes a prediction every February 2 — “there’ll be six more weeks of winter…..”
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