Interesting... I must look into this further... I always wondered how it started...
Groundhog Day, also February 2nd, probably evolved from the lore that Brighid had a white snake that would emerge from hibernation on Imbolc to forecast the weather.
The celebration, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.
The obvious similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication and to St. Swithun's Day in July.
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