It's Groundhog day!
Groundhog Day or Groundhog's Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks. Bron: Wikipedia
Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Predicts 6 More Weeks of Winter
Feb. 2: John Griffiths, right, one of the handlers of weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, holds Phil as his other handler, Ben Hughes, pets him on the head during Groundhog's Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. The Groundhog Club said Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter. The rodent was pulled from his stump by members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, top hat- and tuxedo-wearing businessmen who carry out the tradition.Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what essentially had been a German superstition. The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow were seen, legend said spring would come early. Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, has not seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. An estimated 30,000 people gathered for this year's festivities — about twice the number of people who attended last year, said Marlene Lellock, director of Punxsutawney's Chamber of Commerce. The turnout was particularly large because Groundhog Day fell on a Saturday this year, she said. The event last was held on a Saturday in 2002. Fireworks burst overhead and high school students wearing colorful shirts danced onstage as part of the celebration at Gobbler's Knob, the natural amphitheater where the ceremony takes place. Revelers sang "Happy Birthday" for people born Feb. 2.
Bron: Fox News | Gewijzigd: 2 februari 2008, 19:58 uur, door Marga
Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Predicts 6 More Weeks of Winter
Feb. 2: John Griffiths, right, one of the handlers of weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, holds Phil as his other handler, Ben Hughes, pets him on the head during Groundhog's Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. The Groundhog Club said Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter. The rodent was pulled from his stump by members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, top hat- and tuxedo-wearing businessmen who carry out the tradition.Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what essentially had been a German superstition. The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow were seen, legend said spring would come early. Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, has not seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. An estimated 30,000 people gathered for this year's festivities — about twice the number of people who attended last year, said Marlene Lellock, director of Punxsutawney's Chamber of Commerce. The turnout was particularly large because Groundhog Day fell on a Saturday this year, she said. The event last was held on a Saturday in 2002. Fireworks burst overhead and high school students wearing colorful shirts danced onstage as part of the celebration at Gobbler's Knob, the natural amphitheater where the ceremony takes place. Revelers sang "Happy Birthday" for people born Feb. 2.
Bron: Fox News | Gewijzigd: 2 februari 2008, 19:58 uur, door Marga
Every cloud has a silver lining
