Groundhog Day

Although Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania enjoys one of the country's best-known Groundhog Day celebrations every year, other towns and communities around the nation have also made the day their own.

For example, since 1988, when Lieutenant Governor Bill Nichol officially proclaimed Unadilla the Groundhog Capital of Nebraska, the stuffed groundhog Unadilla Bill has been proferring his annual weather prediction on the main street of that small town, and has become the centerpiece of the Groundhog Festival.

Unadilla's festival usually takes place on the first weekend of February every year.

According to an article in the February/March 2005 edition of National Wildlife, however, the idea that groundhogs, or woodchucks, emerge in early February to check the weather might be incorrect. A biology professor in Pennsylvania has suggested that instead, male groundhogs wake up in February to initiate bonding sessions with potential mates prior to emerging from hibernation completely in March.

The information in this article comes from Omnifile Full Text Select and General Science Full Text. The photo is from Cinema Image Gallery.