Well, it’s Groundhog Day around these parts! Actually, I suppose it’s Groundhog Day around your parts, too…

I never understood the big deal about it being Groundhog Day. I mean, you have this overgrown chipmunk, raised in captivity, who only gets out once a year – and he’s supposed to be able to tell me whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter? And why six weeks, anyway? Why not three weeks, or two months? And since when can groundhogs count?

Bearing in mind the fact that “Internet Research” should be taken with a grain of salt (in fact, you should probably throw in the salt, the salt shaker, and the whole bloody salt mine as well) here are some “fun facts” about Groundhog day:

It’s based on an old Scottish couplet that goes: “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.” What is Candlemas Day, you ask? It’s a traditional Christian festival that commemorates the purification rite of Mary after the birth of Jesus, and the presentation of the baby at the temple. It occurred on the 40th day after birth, and since we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25th, it falls on – you guessed it – February 2.

The Groundhog Day celebration has only been open to the public since 1966, and Punxsutawney Phil’s celebrity has grown exponentially since. He’s been in a major motion picture, visited the U.S. President (Ronald Reagan), and has 4 satellite uplinks and the Internet ready when he makes his predictions, which is an audience we bloggers can only envy! (I wonder what his Technorati rank would be?)

So how accurate are Phil’s predictions, anyway? Well, according to this particular website (it’s the first hit on Google, so it MUST be right, right?), up until 1993 (his 117th anniversary), he’s predicted a long winter 94% of the time! Now you may have noticed this doesn’t answer the question. Ah, well, life is full of little disappointments. Get over it.

Anyway, happy Groundhog Day, and may the force be with you.