Hedgehog Day

"What's this Hedgehog Day?" you ask. "Surely you mean Groundhog Day?"

No, today - February 2nd - is Hedgehog Day, no matter what furry little interloper has since taken over possession of the date. What we call Groundhog Day was first celebrated by the ancient Romans thousands of years ago as part of the festival of Februa, when they observed hedgehogs emerging from their burrows at night and returning if they saw their shadows under the clear moon that signaled six more weeks of winter. Germans borrowed the tradition along with other bits and pieces of Roman culture, though their hedgehogs' weather prediction skills depended on whether or not the creatures saw their shadows in the daytime.

When German settlers came to North America, they neglected to pick up the complimentary promotional weather stations aboard their ships, and were forced to use that most unfortunate garden-pest substitution - the groundhog. Unwilling to admit their mistake, Americans have continued to talk up the groundhog as the pinnacle of prognostication, but we know the truth - the hedgehog is the real thing.

Interestingly enough, Sega Genesis favorite Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released on this date, with Sega proclaiming it "Hedgehog Day" and reminding a new generation which mammal really deserves all the attention on this holiday.