Groundhog's Day

Groundhog's Day is a major, but barely celebrated, holiday in the United States. Despite having little to no celebration, most people know about it. It is taught in school, and it appears on most calendars (forcing the tradition to remain alive, if you ask me). The holiday comes from an old saying where if a groundhog sees its shadow while coming out of its burrow from hibernation, winter is supposed to be for another 6 weeks. If it doesn't, then spring is upcoming. In some ways it can be confusing, as a shadow would indicate that the sun is out, thus melting the snow. Some places keep their own groundhogs for the purposes of a small morning festival. Others borrow one from a nearby zoo. Not like individual houses or buildings, but mainly governmental entities (I think) or unique groups intent on keeping the tradition alive and repeating it each year.
In Boulder, Colorado, a group of wildlife rangers keep a stuffed yellow-bellied marmot named Flatiron Freddy and try to make it more lively by putting it in a stump and turning it into a bit of a mystery in trying to find him when he no-shows, treating the stuffed animal as if it was alive. It is more for the enjoyment of children and is a cute/funny festivity for adults.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYpbNVKVjlM This year he predicted 6 more weeks of winter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOEFjPOIFIU One reason they use a yellow-bellied marmot instead of a groundhog is because groundhogs aren't found in the west, so they use a local close relative instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDD28SE7EF8 Groundhogs are Marmota monax and yellow-bellied marmots are Marmota flaviventris.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marmot&oldid=1116705550
Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog, but he was not well known until recently. The festival was somewhat more important to the residents, perhaps because the tradition is said to originate from the Pennsylvanian Dutch, which is local for them. The tradition has been going for them since 1887. They have a bunch of men in black gathered on a platform read out the announcement from a scroll while carrying Punxsutawney Phil (a living groundhog) around. This year, he has predicted 6 more weeks of winter.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXYyuGHjSkA Apparently some people dress in black for this (perhaps it's a reference to his shadow?) But I never knew it was a thing until today.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkRhD9IbfTA
==References==
Category:Holidays