Fun on Groundhog Day
There are shadows you make in the sunshine,
There are shadows you make by the lamp,
There are shadows that lurk in the forest
While you tell creepy stories at camp.
There are shadows that help you with puppets,
And shadows you make just for play,
But the shadow that's famous is Groundhog's,
When he tells whether winter's to stay.
Let's go out very early this morning
And watch for his shadow, my son;
It may not be at all scientific,
But you've got to admit that it's fun!
~Barbara Walker~
In Germany, the Germans had a folklore, that on Candlemas day if a hedgehog saw its shadow, there would be 6 more weeks of winter.
When they migrated to the USA, there were no hedgehogs, so they changed their traditions from a hedgehog to a groundhog.
In the early days of the 1880's, a few people in Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania, began to celebrate the legend of the groundhog, as a weather predictor. If Punxsutawney Phil, sees his shadow, when emerging from his burrow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather. If he does not see his shadow, the forecast would be for a early spring.
A similar tradition, is when snow and a overcast skies can also signal an early end to winter.
In northern Europe on Candlemas Day, which also falls on February 2, in some areas thid also marks the beginning of spring planting.
Approximately 90% of the time, Phil sees his shadow, so I have read.
Mr. Groundhog's Shadow
A groundhog lives down deep in the ground.
He Sleeps through the winter.
And every year about this time,
He wakes up and wonders,
"Is it time to get out of bed
Or pull the covers back over my head?"
So he pokes his head up out of the ground.
Will he see his shadow?
~Author Unknown~
The Groundhog and Winter
On February second
Here's a Little Groundhog...
(can be sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
Here's a little groundhog
Groundhog's Day Crafts to Make...
A groundhog is beckon
To climb out of his winter home
And stretch his legs and begin to roam.
It has been many days
Coped up in his burrow maze
And now he has a certain craze
To feel the sun's rays.
He pokes his nose into the cold
From the home in which he was holed
And looks around
Then climbs out of the ground.
He is very timid and shy
And he's ready to say goodbye to the sky
Because he doesn't want anyone to see
And especially a she
That his brown fur is coated with grime
And that he didn't take the time
To use his comb
Before leaving his home.
He is so afraid to be seen
Ready to run home to get clean
That even his shadow will make him jump
And run to his home to grump
And because he fears critiques
He'll remain there for six weeks.
And according to lore
If Winter hears him snore,
Then it will decide to stay
For six more weeks to our dismay.
~William Slaght~
Furry and brown
He's coming up
To look around
If he sees his shadow
Down he goes
Then six more weeks
Of winter snows.
2) Make groundhogs out of some brown play dough or plastercine.
3) Make a groundhog puppet using a brown paper bag.
4) Find a paper plate to make a groundhog mask with.
A few other Things to do...
Starting today, make a weather graph to see what really happens with the weather each day.
Turn on the lights on in the room you are in, and look at the shadows, also pop outside and look for shadows too.
On a calendar, count how many days there are until the first day of Spring.
Pretend to be a groundhog, by climbing into a large box, and pop out and see if you can find your shadow.
I have removed my guestbook for the moment,
but do write to me via e-mail if you wish,
would love to hear from you.
How to send this page through Email:
1.Highlight and copy the URL
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2.Paste the URL into the body of your EMAIL message
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3.The recipent can then simply
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The URL of this page is...
http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/groundhog.html