Yesterday was Groundhog Day and Punxsuawney Phil saw his shadow. For what it is worth, we now have 6 more weeks of winter. Fine with me, as I have not done nearly enough skiing. Slate published this yesterday on just where Groundhog Day comes from. Oddly enough, the current form is based on

Candlemas Day, an early Christian feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus that involved a lot of candle-bearing

This day, as most Christian holidays are, is based on an earlier Pagan holiday. But, I have to say that the modern form of this day is extremely odd. How would you like to be woken up from your hibranation on a cold winter's day just so some schmuck can see if you have a shadow. They could do the same thing with a carboard cut out of a groundhog, or heck, the schmuch can do it himself...unless he's a vampire.