Candlemas and Groundhog Day

An interesting MSN Encarta column about Groundhog Day went around the office a couple of days ago, with a little surprise buried in a sidebar:

The Secret Truth Behind Groundhog Day
by Tamim Ansary


Every February 2, news crews from around the country crowd into Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for the annual appearance of Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most famous groundhog. [...snip...]

Did You Know?

Groundhog Day started in Europe, but it wasn't called Groundhog Day then. The holiday was Candlemas, a Christian holiday. The legend about the animal and its shadow was part of Candlemas, but the animal in question was the hedgehog. The Pilgrims brought the tradition to America but couldn't find a hedgehog here, so they seized upon the next best thing.

I had not known this.