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N0KFQ > TODAY 02.02.16 17:01l 56 Lines 2465 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 83562_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Feb 2
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Sent: 160202/1454Z 83562@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1887
First Groundhog Day
On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent
meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler's Knob
in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a
groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow,
there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means
an early spring.
Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Catholic tradition of
Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles
needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the
winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an
animal-the hedgehog-as a means of predicting weather. Once they
came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the
tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs,
which were plentiful in the Keystone State.
Groundhogs, also called woodchucks and whose scientific name is
Marmota monax, typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to
eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they're
frightened or looking for a mate and can climb trees and swim.
They go into hibernation in the late fall; during this time,
their body temperatures drop significantly, their heartbeats slow
from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of
their body fat. In February, male groundhogs emerge from their
burrows to look for a mate (not to predict the weather) before
going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in
March.
In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog
hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America's
only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs
that have since been known as Phil might be America's most famous
groundhogs, but other towns across North America now have their
own weather-predicting rodents, from Birmingham Bill to Staten
Island Chuck to Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.
In 1993, the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularized
the usage of "groundhog day" to mean something that is repeated
over and over. Today, tens of thousands of people converge on
Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness Phil's
prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day
celebration featuring entertainment and activities.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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