2005 Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.
好像没有多少动物获得象土拨鼠这样高的荣誉，被美国和加拿大的人们视为预测春天何时到来的权威。每年
GroundhogDay（2月2日。好像中国的阴历这一天叫做龙抬头)都可以在电视上看到，在美国几个不同地方的，Groundhog被18世纪绅士装束的人士高高举起，受到聚集观看的人们的欢呼。不管看见没看见自己的身影，它又重返自己的窝里接着做梦去了。常在校园里见到什么动物挖的很大的洞，但不知道主人是谁，直到一天见到了这个原以为是在地下生活的土拨鼠。
嗨，大白天的，胆子不小呀。
看它往哪儿去。
噢，这是它的洞呀，浅了点儿，背还露在外面呢。顾头不顾尾的，怎么和鸵鸟差不多。得，不打搅了。
又遇见一只。跑得够快的。
原来在这树根底下有个洞呀。
够棒的，上边还带了望口的，上下相同。瞧，这小家伙还挺沉得住气的。
The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels.
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot, or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it will return into its burrow and winter will continue for 6 more weeks.[1] Candlemas is sometimes the same day, and has similar beliefs about the coming weather.
Historical origins
Perhaps the earliest known American reference to Groundhog Day can be found at the Historical Society of Berks County in Reading, Pennsylvania. The reference was made February 4, 1841 in Morgantown, Berks County, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris' diary: "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."[1] (Lore has it that the groundhog is a timid creature, and the sight of his own shadow will scare him.)
In the United States the tradition derives from a Scottish poem:
As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and snow
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop
This tradition also stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day[2] and Groundhog Day. Candlemas, also known as the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation, coincides with the earlier pagan observance Imbolc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day
