Well, here it is time again for my (almost) annual Groundhog Day blog. Groundhogs aren’t particularly glamorous, or cute and are generally just annoying. On Groundhog Day they come out of their hole and see their shadow —or not. Big deal. Why they get their own day is a bit of a mystery, but if for no other reason than we’ve made it through January, February 2nd is a good day to celebrate.
Attempting to write about groundhogs and their day every year, and mention something new, is challenging at best. So if you’re thinking you’ve read this before… well, it is Groundhog Day.
Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep — it’s actually a deep coma, where the body temperature drops to a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, the blood scarcely flows and breathing nearly stops. During hibernation (about 150 days) a groundhog will lose no more than a fourth of its body weight due to all the energy saved by this lower metabolism.
Alaska has replaced Groundhog Day with Marmot Day. When Sarah Palin was Governor in 2009, she signed a bill proclaiming February 2 as Marmot Day — an Alaskan holiday that celebrates frontier life.
All through history, numerous holidays have marked the seasonal crossroads between the winter solstice and the spring equinox around the early part of February. February 2nd is also Candlemas Day — a Christian holiday that celebrates Mary’s ritual purification. Early Christians believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, winter would last six more weeks. The ancient Romans observed a “mid-season” festival in early February as did the pagan Irish.
So if the groundhog wants to have his day, I’ll go along with it — but for the rest of the year, I’d just like to know how get rid of them….
— 30 —