Ground Hog Day History. Groundhog day, in the united states and canada, day (february 2) on which the emergence of the groundhog from its burrow is said to foretell the weather for the following six weeks. Another name for a groundhog is a woodchuck.

Groundhogs day traces its origins back centuries to an old germanic tradition that would predict the coming of spring or a prolonged winter. According to an old english song, if candlemas be. No shadow means an early spring.