It seems that everybody wants to know what the coming weather will be.  Ofcourse, it can be advantageous to know these things; it could save a lot of lawn sprinkling and rock salt purchases. Though many folks claim at least some rudimentary understanding of meteorology, few actually have such a degree. Rather, they turn to the formidable sayings of grandfather or some other character who is in the know. Whole books have been written about weather folklore and its truth, and certainly it seems that every culture has its favorite sayings. None, however, strike me as more strange than that of looking for a groundhog shadow.

Every February second, attention is focused on the groundhog. The theory is simple,if the critter emerges from his home and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, there will be an early spring. No one seems to really know just where this bit of logic came from, but it seems to go back more than a few years. This little tidbit though, might have grown cobwebs and become totally forgotten had not the Ground Hog Club of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania been founded and revived this old tradition. But on February second 1989, seven hardy men from the town gathered at a place called Gobbler's Knob to drink beer and eat ground hog. Apparently, debating the coming weather came after consumption of beer. The fun caught on however, and soon this little hill was given the nickname of the weather capitol of the world. There doesn't seem to be any record keeping as to the accuracy of this weather lore and, truth be told, there is no accuracy to it, but who is to question tradition!

Groundhog Day does however, have other roots. It isn't the groundhog that issignificant, as it turns out, it is the date, February second. February second is also known as Candlemas day, and has been called as such for a very long time. It was believed that this day had special significance, and events which occurred on this day were regarded as predictions of things to come. The lore of this day remains the same without the groundhog. An old English verse says:
 

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight:
But if it be dark with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.

The reason why February second is important is due to Christian tradition. Whenthe date of Jesus' birth was finally set to December 25, the next significant event in his life became the presentation at the temple as described in Luke 2. The event was celebrated by the church by having a parade of lit candles to commemorate the prophecy of Simeon that Jesus would become a light to lighten the Gentiles. The date became known as Candlemas and eventually assumed prophetic status for the year ahead.

Once it was known that the day was prophetic, all that was needed was some imagination to decide how and what to predict. And given the influence of a few beers and groundhog steaks, it was only a small, if wobbly, step to using the critter to predict the spring ahead.