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Groundhog Day 土撥鼠節

　更新日期: 2008-01-31

In the 1700s, a lot of German immigrants1 moved to the US. According to German folklore2, certain animals have special powers on certain days. The groundhog3 is one of those animals. Its special day was previously on Candlemas, a holiday that was celebrated when winter was half over. Later, the groundhog got its own holiday, on which Punxsutawney Phil is now the biggest star

Groundhog Day is every February 2. On this day, people watch as Phil steps out of his hole after a long winter of sleeping. If he sees his own shadow4, he runs back inside, and winter weather will not end soon. On the contrary, it means that six more weeks of cold weather are still ahead. If it is cloudy, Phil won't see his shadow. Therefore, he predicts that spring weather will arrive soon.

Americans aren't the only people who eagerly wait for a groundhog's prediction5. In Canada, Wiarton Willie predicts the end of winter weather. While this kind of festival is fun, it's doubtful whether any human or animal can actually understand Mother Nature6.

十八世紀時有許多德國人移民到美國。根據德國的民間傳說，某些動物在特定日子裡擁有特殊的能力。土撥鼠便是那些動物之一。牠的特殊之日原先時值Candlemas，這個節日是在冬天過了一半時慶祝的。爾後，土撥鼠得到了自己專屬的節日，現在普蘇塔尼‧菲爾就是這天最閃亮的巨星（編按：普蘇塔尼‧菲爾是一隻土撥鼠的名字，他得名於自己所處的小鎮，也就是位於美國賓州的普蘇塔尼）。

每年的二月二日為土撥鼠節。在這一天，人們會看著菲爾在長長的冬眠後爬出他的洞穴。如果他看到自己的影子，他就會跑回洞裡，而冬日氣候還不會那麼快結束。相反地，這意謂著前頭仍然還有六週的嚴寒氣候。如果天氣多雲，菲爾就不會看到他的影子。因此他便預測大地即將春暖花開。

美國人並不是唯一殷切期盼土撥鼠做出天氣預報的民族。在加拿大，威亞頓‧威利負責預測冬日氣候何時結束。雖然這樣的活動很有趣，不過對於任何人或動物真能瞭解大自然一事，還有待商確。