Groundhog Day cancelled!

**Lallans** · 2nd February 11, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Jimmy

please explain all this groundhog, woodchuck, shadow, winter spring thing?

CajunScot gave the background, here is the foreground:

On February 2, the groundhog, a North American marmot more properly named the woodchuck, emerges from underground hibernation and appears at the entrance of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he ducks back inside and there will be another six weeks of winter. If there is no shadow, he ducks back inside and winter will be over "soon", within six weeks or so. It's true!

A village in Pennsylvania which I will not even attempt to spell actually started a festival around the tradition, where strange men in top hats rip a poor animal out of his cage and pass him around like a baby, a dangerously well-toothed baby. Also true! This bizarre practice was the basis of the unexpectedly good Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day.

Wiarton, a town in Ontario, as well as several other towns around the continent, have started up with rival captive woodchucks and have their own festivals. The Wiarton animal is traditionally an albino, which I actually prefer due to the fact that they have even poorer eyesight than a fully melinated 'chuck and are therefore less likely to see anything, never mind their shadow.

Now you have to explain Alexi Sayle!