European Roots
(Adapted from "Groundhog Day: 1886 to 1992"
by Bill Anderson)
Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in
the United States. It is
also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of
time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such
as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence
our lives. It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long
winter sleep to look for his shadow.
If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more
weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole.
If the day is cloudy
and, hence, shadowless, he takes it as a sign of
spring and stays above ground.