Ground Hog's Day
Many people do not realize the importance of Ground Hog’s Day, they think only of a silly movie when they hear the name spoken aloud. This is a shame for the holiday has special significance. It marks the end of the Virgin Mary’s 40-day purification after the birth of Christ. It is also the mid-point between the beginning of winter and the beginning of spring, when the weather begins to improve and life returns to the Earth. Notably, there are other animals are used (although not on the same day) to "predict" the end of winter - most notably, bears and badgers. I can see it now - two guys standing outside of a bear's cave with the news crew there to catch everything and one guy hands the other guys a stick and says "Ok, Jimbo, now you go into this here cave with the stick and look for that bear. When you find him, wake him up by whacking him with the stick and getting him to follow you out here so we can see if spring is coming."