February 2, 2001--Groundhog Phil, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, saw his shadow shortly after sunrise today, indicating six more weeks of winter!
GROUNDHOGS, also called WOODCHUCKS or WHISTLE-PIGS, are black-footed, reddish-brown or brown animals, ranging from 17 to 20 inches in length, with 4 to 6-inch tails. They weigh between 4 and 14 pounds.
Their habitat includes the eastern and central United States northward across Canada and into Alaska. Woodchucks prefer open fields and woodland edges, where they feed mainly on low green vegetation, eating seeds, roots and other plant material.
They are primarily terrestrial but are good swimmers and climbers. They feed heavily in summer in order to store fat to see them through their winter hibernation. They are also excellent diggers; their burrows are constructed with a main entrance and an escape tunnel.
Groundhogs have excellent eyesight. They also has a very nervous disposition, ready to flee to their burrows at any sign of danger. The animals are solitary creatures except during the spring, when their litters of four to five young are born. The young stay with the mother for about two months.
When German settlers arrived in the 1700s, they brought a tradition known as Candlemas Day. It was celebrated on February 2nd, the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. If the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter.
A badger was watched by the German for its shadow. In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania - settled by the Delaware Indians - the groundhog, upon waking from mid-winter hibernation, was selected as the replacement. The Delawares believed groundhogs to be honorable ancestors.
Old English sayings:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May.
If the sun shines on Groundhog Day;
Half the fuel and half the hay.