The Legend of Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day has been a popular tradition in the United States for as long as most of us can remember. It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole to look for his shadow.
If he sees his shadow, he considers it a sign of six more weeks of winter, and returns to his hole. However, if he doesn’t see his shadow, we will expect beautiful spring days ahead.
The groundhog tradition comes from similar beliefs associated Candlemas. This old European theory believes that a sunny Candlemas day would lead the winter to last another six weeks.
Gradually these traditions became associated with other different folklores. The Germans added the belief of an animal (originally a hedgehog). If the hedgehog was frightened by his shadow on Candlemas day, this would predict winter to last another six weeks.
This belief was then brought to America during the 18th Century by German settlers. These settlers then adopted the groundhog as their weather predictor.
Now, each year on February 2nd, we gather for fun events, crafts, stories, and other Groundhog Day celebrations as we await for the weather predictions.
Be sure to visit Long Island’s favorite groundhogs, the Malverne Mel and the Holtsville Hal as they predict what the rest of winter 2016 will have in store for us.
For more Groundhog Day celebrations and events on Long Island, visit http://www.longisland.com/news/01-12-16/groundhog-day-2016-events.html
Written by: Amanda Haase
