Groundhog Day

By Coggin Heeringa, Crossroads at Big Creek

This week, we will celebrate Groundhog Day at Crossroads as part of our Science Saturday program. But why do we celebrate a rodent and its shadow on February 2.

“Groundhog Day,” observed on February 2, is a secular holiday that has become synonymous with tedious repetition, thanks in part to a movie of the same name. Its origins, however, are rooted in history and tradition.

Groundhog Day traces back to a Christian feast day. According to tradition, forty days after the birth of a son, and in accordance with Jewish law as written in Leviticus, a mother would go to the Temple for ritual purification. Once the early church chose to celebrate Christmas in December, it established the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary forty days later, on February 2.

By around the year 450, this religious holiday—still observed in many parts of the world—had come to include candlelit processions. As the tradition spread through Europe, church leaders noticed that February 2 fell exactly midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, two light-related celestial events already significant in many cultures. The observance became known as Candlemas.

Over time, folk traditions attached themselves to Candlemas. In Germany, a superstition arose that if a badger—or perhaps a hedgehog—saw its shadow on that day, it would retreat back into its burrow for six more weeks of winter. When German immigrants arrived in North America, they found that hedgehogs and European badgers were scarce, but groundhogs were plentiful. Gradually, Candlemas evolved into Groundhog Day and shed its religious associations.

Groundhogs do hibernate, and while they may partially awaken in early February, they do not pop out of holes  to offer weather predictions. During hibernation, body functions are so reduced that normal sleep brainwaves are absent. Yet sleep is essential, so groundhogs experience what scientists call periodic arousal—brief awakenings that allow them to catch up on sleep before drifting back into hibernation, all without leaving their burrows.

Groundhogs won’t be seeing their shadows this time of year, but participants in our Science Saturday program will explore shadow-related activities while learning about groundhogs and their winter adaptations.

The next day, the afterschool program, held  at 3:30 pm, will help kids explore the fascinating science of bubbles.

Last Chance to submit! Our Photo contest submission will close at the end of the month, but follow our Facebook Page starting on Groundhog’s Day  to help select the winner.

Shadows may still be long, but we now are halfway to the spring equinox. Enjoy winter while it lasts—perhaps by taking advantage of our Ski-for-Free program—but be sure to check the ticker on the Crossroads website for open hours and current trail conditions.