The world owes this holiday to the United States andCanada, where it is celebrated for real. In the rest of the world people only know what Groundhog Day is and sometimes the history of the holiday. Celebrations take place annually on February 2, when people watch the marmot get out of the hole, thus predicting the arrival of spring.
So, Groundhog Day is a holiday of springpredictions, when people are actively monitoring the behavior of animals crawling out of cozy burrows. As you know, marmots are fearful creatures, so predictions should not be considered absolutely accurate. In most cases, the following trend can be traced: if the day turned out gloomy, the marmot does not notice its shadow and boldly emerges from the burrow. This sign is considered good - it means that soon spring will come. If, on February 2, Groundhog Day was sunny, the animal is likely to be afraid of its shadow and run away back to the burrow. This sign foreshadows another at least 2 months of cold weather.
On this day, all Americans who know thatis Groundhog Day, thank the animal for the prediction and in every possible way praises the pet of the nation. Americans are incredibly faithful to the traditions, they still regularly keep statistics on the marmot's predictions, and only 40% of forecasts are correct. However, despite the disappointing statistics, in the US and Canada still hold whole festivals, dedicated to marmots, predictors.
The traditional marmot day was born in the AncientRome, and his concept was absolutely identical, that's only instead of marmot Romans chose as a predictor of a simple hedgehog. In Rome, the feast was also celebrated on February 2, when the hedgehog woke up and looked at his behavior. The result, as well as with the marmot, depended on the courage of the beast - whether he would see or not see his shadow, get scared or even get out of the hole.
Groundhog Day in America began to celebrate in the statePennsylvania, when once on February 2 the marmot suddenly got out of the mink, although theoretically it had to be in hibernation. Local residents were extremely surprised and saw in this a certain meteorological sense, from this the history of the holiday in the modern world began.
About what Groundhog Day, the whole world learned about120 years ago, some countries of Western Europe adopted this tradition and preserved to this day. In Russia, a hedgehog appears as a predictor, northern Germany awakens a badger, and in America, due to the lack of both, a marmot was chosen.
Today the marmot festival is not so much connected withpredictions, as with a simple desire to tear myself away from everyday gray life. There are many ways to cheer yourself and the company on this day. If your friends also know what Groundhog Day is, ask them to arrange a small party with fun games.
You can, for example, play the game "Beast". This is a kind of pantomime, when the participants stand in a circle, and the leader whispers to each ear the name of any animal. Then the players try to guess who is who. You can arrange a holiday and with the family, for example, to exchange roles: the husband conjures at the plate, and the wife plays computer games, the children are free to do anything, they will certainly come up with something to puzzle their parents.
The fact is that on February 2, from the astronomical pointsight is the middle of winter, this day marks an equal segment between the spring and autumn equinox, therefore it is important not only as an American holiday.
For example, the Catholic Church on this daymarks the Lord's Sacrament or Gromnia. It is interesting that this holiday (like many others) came from paganism, where it was considered the day of sacrifice to the god Perun.
However, the traditions of a pagan holiday are incredibleare close to the concept of Groundhog Day: on the day of Gromovnitsy, weather observations were also conducted. If the day turned out to be frosty, it means that warming is expected soon, and if on February 2 it's warm in the street - the harvest will be bad. Snowstorm also meant a long winter.
The very first and best knownThe marmot meteorologist was the founder of the holiday. He lived in Pennsylvania and called him Phil, and the Americans came up with a whole title in a few lines, and the city of Punxsutawny was dubbed the "Capital of the weather."
In Canada, there is also a hero - Willy fromWyarton. The marmot is known for the fact that every year it wakes up exactly on February 2, after which the owner of the animal (and in combination, the mayor) listens to the prediction that the marmot whispered in his ear. After the mission is completed, the marmot, yawning, returns back to the burrow. It is unlikely that the beast knows that a whole fan club has been formed among the Canadians, and on the Internet it has a personal site that has won several awards ... Moreover, the largest marmot sculpture also belongs to Willy, it was built in 1995 by a Canadian sculptor, also consisting of the fan club of Wiarton Willy ...
Despite the inaccuracy of predictions, marmots are still revered both in the US and in Canada, because people still want to believe in miracles, living in a modern dry world ...
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