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Celebrated on February 2, Groundhog day festivities are
based on an ancient Celtic celebration called Imbolic. The
date is one of the four cross-quarter days of the year, the
midpoints between the spring and fall equinoxes and the
summer and winter solstices. Imbolic, marking the midpoint
between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, was the
most important of the cross-quarter days. In a society
dependent upon agriculture, and therefore on the weather,
this was a time to celebrate surviving the first half of the
winter.
According to superstition, if the weather was fair on
Imbolic, the second half of the winter would be cold and
stormy. If the weather was cold and overcast, the rest of
the season would be mild. The Romans learned these
traditional beliefs from the Scottish Celts, and brought
them to the area that was to become Germany. The belief
became a part of German folk culture and found its way to
the United States with German immigrants.
Since then, people throughout the country have celebrated
Groundhog Day by predicting the start of spring based on
whether the Groundhog sees his shadow on February 2. If he
sees his shadow on the 2nd, then six more weeks of winter or
if not, spring is just around the corner.
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