A pudgy, four-legged prognosticator says Canadians will be graced with an early spring after he waddled out of his shed and did not see his shadow.
Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam emerged from his small barn this morning and officials declared that the groundhog did not see his shadow in the first of many such weather predictions being made today in North America.
Children gathered around the pen as the rodent scurried into a snowy yard, hiding behind a promotional banner for the annual event.
Folklore has it that if the groundhog sees its shadow when it emerges from its burrow on Groundhog Day, there will be six more weeks of winter. If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, then tradition says spring is on the way.
Thousands across the country are expected to turn to four-legged forecasters, like Sam and Wiarton Willie, to learn if spring is just around the corner.
In Wiarton, Ont., the festival leading up to this morning’s “official prediction” by the town’s albino groundhog — Willie — began on Jan. 27.
In Pennsylvania, it will be the 131st Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob as Punxsutawney Phil reveals his prediction to the president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
