Martin Bell„ age 10... of Brookline.. Masses for his question:

How did the legend of Ground Hog Day begin?

The‑settlers from the Old World brought with them many customs. Scene were special sacred dayso Some were to do with‑ guessing about the weathers In the New World  the settlers tried to hold onto these old customs. It seemed to make them less homesick. Often the Old World customs were changed to suit life in the New World

Ground Hog Day  as everyone but the ground hog knows. is on February 2. In the Old World  many of the settlers had celebrated February 2 as a sacred day. It was Candlemas Day  the day on which the candles in the churches were blessed; The settlers of New England kept this special day to make a weather prophesy.

The chubby lazy ground hog was new to them. They studied his habits. He was a native American and knew how to cope with the weather. In the fall he stuffs himself full of grasses seeds and green stuff. This gives him an extra layer of fat.

Come Octobers the ground hog turns his back on the weather. He finds a comfortable burrows curls up and goes to sleep. There he stays in the deep sleep of hibernation until spring. Sometimes two furry ground hogs will curl up in the same burrow. That ways they keep each other warmer.

The settlers knew that spring had come to stay when the ground hog came out of his winter sleep. This native American: they thought. could not make a mistake. He would know whether spring would‑be early or late. So they watched him. Very early spring weather was often followed by stormss. The settlers were often fooled by this early spring weather. But they were sure the native ground hog was not fooled.

The story grew gradually. No one knows who started it. On February 2 Mr. Ground Hog is supposed to come out and look over the weather situation, if the sun is shining  he can see his shadow He is not fooled: they says by this early sunshine. He knows more bad weather is ahead. So he turns right around and goes back to sleep for another six weeks. By that time the real spring will have arrived.

Does the ground hog really do this? Not at all. The lazy fellow sleeps until March. If he woke up by accident on February 2, he would roll over and go right back to sleep. rain or shines But it is a nice story and a good one to remember  It is a warning against shedding clothes or planting crops before the real spring has arrived. The ground hog is the only animal to have a day named in his honor. It would be a pity to take it away from him  even though he doesn’t know a thing about it. For Ground Hog Day comes and goes and the lazy fellow sleeps right through it.