Groundhog's Day

Happy Groundhog's Day! What will Phil say to today? 6 more weeks of winter or is spring time coming our way? We shall just have to wait and see....

*On a side note, for those of you who don't celebrate this day with Phil, Groundhog day found its origins in the USA with the arrival of German settlers, who thought that groundhogs bore a resemblance to hedgehogs and therefore were wise and intuitive about things.  If the sun shone that day and he saw his shadow the groundhog would run back to his cozy little home for 6 more weeks of winter....

In Europe the day was celebrated as the Christian holiday of "Candlemas Day" and there were plenty of rhymes to go along with the day:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

 To find out more click on the picture of a cute top-hatted groundhog!

**Update: If we are going by the Old English rhyme above than in my part of Merry Ol' England today, it seems that Spring is on its way! In saying that, however it is more sleet than rain and there was a dusting of snow on the ground yesterday, so hmmm! And, Phil's prediction? He said there would be 6 more weeks of winter!