February 2 is a special day. Traditionally it was the day to begin the spring planting. If it was a sunny day and a certain animal saw its shadow, it was believed that six more weeks of winter remained. In England and France the animal was a bear. In Germany, the animal was a badger. In the 1880's, German immigrants to Pennsylvania found no badgers but they adapted the species that they saw to the old tradition. That animal is the groundhog and February 2 is known as Groundhog's Day in the United States.
Here are some other names groundhogs are known by: woodchuck, whistle-pig, land-beaver, marmot, and mouse bear.
Check out these fun books from our library along with these groundhog links:
- The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club - February 2, 2013 will be Punxsutawney Phil's 127th prognostication! What is a prognostication? Check here in the dictionary and find out!
- Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming - make your own woodchuck...
- Punxsutawney Phyllis by Susan Leonard Hill - search the Braddock ES Online Catalog for more titles.
- 10 Things You Might Not Know About Groundhogs - from The National Wildlife Federation.
- Fabulous Facts About Groundhogs - from Spider Magazine.
- El Niño and the Groundhog - science and folklore from The Old Farmer's Almanac.
- Groundhog Day Crafts - from Enchanted Learning.
Punxsutawney Phil - New Village Media
The Groundhog Song by William Holmes
I'm a Little Groundhog by Harry Kindergarten
The Groundhog Song from First Snow in the Woods - Sisbrostudios
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