Groundhog Day is a tradition observed in the United States and Canada on Feb. 2 every year.
It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks. However, if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. The weather lore was brought from Germanspeaking areas where the badger is the forecasting animal. It is related to the lore that clear weather on the Christian festival of Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter. Weather a badger or a groundhog, the rodents need to hone their skills to improve their predictive success.
