The Origin
In North America, Groundhog Day comes seven weeks before the official first day of spring, which falls around March 20th. Some ancient traditions marked the change of season when daylight first makes significant progress against the night. Other traditions stated that spring did not begin until the length of daylight overtook night at the Vernal Equinox. The groundhog was incorporated as a yearly custom to settle the two traditions. Back then, it was common for people to predict the weather based on animals hibernation patterns.
