Groundhog Day helps winter dreariness

Today is Groundhog Day.
It is also Groundhog Job Shadow Day (hibernating, anyone?), Hedgehog Day (for those who don’t have a groundhog handy), Sled Dog Day (perhaps for chasing groundhogs), Heavenly Hash Day (to console yourself after the beast predicts yet more winter}, and World Play Your Ukulele Day (to punish the groundhogs). There are other things celebrated on this day according to the handy-dandy Internet, but the above sounded the most interesting.
Although I am writing this before the actual holiday, I will venture a guess that the official prediction will be another six weeks of cold and snow. The groundhog in charge of dashing our hopes for an early spring, Punxsutawney Phil, actually lives in a library and is never given enough freedom to dash back into his fake hole whether he sees his shadow or not.
The holiday is a fun way to break up an often dreary time of year. We can pretend that groundhogs are the cute and cuddly creatures they appear to be. They are wild animals, whose sole purpose is not to provide weather predictions. When they are left to themselves, they are very good at reminding us to watch where we are going so that we don’t trip and fall when we encounter one of the many holes they dig. While this aerates the lawn, it is unsightly and potentially hazardous.
I do not recommend catching one in order to verify Phil’s prediction. Any sensible groundhog is still hibernating and would not appreciate being awakened early. A simpler method would be to consult the calendar to see when spring will arrive. My calendar says March 20. In reality, the weather will change when it chooses and there is nothing we can do to modify that.
While we are waiting for spring to arrive, we can get some much needed exercise by shoveling snow. Many of the sidewalks that I traverse are still covered in snow and ice from the last time the white stuff fell out of the sky. So far we have managed to escape the predicted winter storm, but it may or may not have arrived by the time you read this.
Groundhog Day is a great holiday. It doesn’t require weeks of shopping, cooking, traveling or anything except tuning in to the media to listen to a prediction. You don’t have to believe in any particular religion. You aren’t expected to throw a party. You don’t have to prepare a tasty stew out of the marmots. All that is required is to take note of the occasion and then go about your day.
The best thing about today is that winter is at least half over. The worst may be still to come, but the end is in sight. We just have to get through the longest four weeks of the year. February may be short, but it usually makes up in intensity what it lacks in length.
I hope you join me in celebrating the day that was once called Candlemas. The best way to do this is to get out the garden catalogs and plan your summer garden. If you have any hyacinths stashed in your refrigerator, it is time to take one or two of them out and put them on a window sill. Plan for all the projects you will do once spring finally arrives. Be thankful that fried groundhog isn’t on the menu, although I’m sure somebody thinks it’s tasty.
In one form or another, people have celebrated the turning point of winter for centuries. It has taken many forms, from religious holidays to frivolous celebrations. In today’s world, we call it Groundhog Day and empower an oversized and mostly harmless rodent with the ability to give us hope that winter will soon be over and that the sunny days of spring are just around the corner. Happy Groundhog Day everyone!