Difference between revisions of "Celebrate Groundhog Day"
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| − | + | Groundhog Day is celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2nd. Based on trying to guess when winter is going to end, the tradition holds that if the groundhog (''Marmota monax'') pops his head out but sees a shadow when emerging from its burrow, and pops back down, winter will go on for another six weeks. But, if it doesn't see its shadow, and the groundhog comes out of its burrow, then it's thought that winter will be over soon.<ref name="rf1">Wisegeek, What is Groundhog Day?, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-groundhog-day.htm</ref> | |
| − | [[Category:Holidays and Traditions]] | + | [[Category: Holidays and Traditions]] |
== Steps == | == Steps == | ||
# Study the origins of Groundhog Day. This is especially fun if done as a family, where you can sit down with the kids and do some research into the origins of the event. Can you find any particularly interesting or quirky Groundhog Days in the past? This Candlemas Day event has similarities to rituals performed a long time ago by the [[Draw a Celtic Knot|Celts]] (a festival called "Imbolc"), which later transformed in part to the [[Learn German|German]] tradition of Candlemas. It is also said that the [[Cook Like a Roman|Romans]] celebrated a similar event which also held that if a [[Buy a Hedgehog|hedgehog]] emerging from its hibernation in the moonlight could see its shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter.<ref name="rf2">Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, "Hedgehog Day" entry, p. 113, (2011), ISBN 978-0-07-174026-5</ref> | # Study the origins of Groundhog Day. This is especially fun if done as a family, where you can sit down with the kids and do some research into the origins of the event. Can you find any particularly interesting or quirky Groundhog Days in the past? This Candlemas Day event has similarities to rituals performed a long time ago by the [[Draw a Celtic Knot|Celts]] (a festival called "Imbolc"), which later transformed in part to the [[Learn German|German]] tradition of Candlemas. It is also said that the [[Cook Like a Roman|Romans]] celebrated a similar event which also held that if a [[Buy a Hedgehog|hedgehog]] emerging from its hibernation in the moonlight could see its shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter.<ref name="rf2">Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, "Hedgehog Day" entry, p. 113, (2011), ISBN 978-0-07-174026-5</ref> | ||
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# Make a chart to see what really happens to the weather from this day until you feel like it's really spring. Did the groundhog get it right? | # Make a chart to see what really happens to the weather from this day until you feel like it's really spring. Did the groundhog get it right? | ||
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== Tips == | == Tips == | ||
