Today, in many countries around the world, everyone is celebrating Groundhog Day, an event that is believed to be the sign of the end of winter and the beginning of spring, UNN reports.
In ancient Rome, on February 2, a hedgehog was woken up from its hibernation and its behavior was used to predict the arrival of spring. The custom has been preserved by Western European peoples, including the Germans.
And it was the German settlers who settled in the United States in the 1700s who brought with them the custom of waking up a hedgehog to learn about changes in the weather. However, there were not enough hedgehogs in those parts, but there were marmots, which also spend the winter in hibernation.
The official date of Groundhog Day is February 2, 1886. At that time, the local newspaper of Punxsutawney, a city in Pennsylvania, published the news that on Groundhog Day, the animal did not see its shadow. The Punxsutawney groundhog was named Big Phil, and since then all of his local successors have been named after him.
Observing a groundhog coming out of its hiding place on this day, you need to pay attention to its behavior, which can determine the proximity of the long-awaited spring. If it is a cloudy day and the groundhog cannot see its shadow, but calmly leaves its burrow, it is highly likely that winter will soon end and spring is expected to be early this year. If the day is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow and goes back to hide in the hole, then winter will most likely last another six weeks.
Today, on the first Friday, you can also celebrate Naked Work Day.
Lisa Kanarek initiated the unusual event in 2010. Despite its provocative name, the event primarily promotes working outside the office.
Naked Work Day is more than just the physical aspect of working without traditional office clothes. It symbolizes a shift away from conventional office norms and towards a more comfortable, personalized work environment that takes into account the individual needs of employees and is a more flexible and adaptive work environment.
Since 1997, February 2 has been celebrated as World Wetlands Day. The event is dedicated to the fact that the Convention on the Protection of Wetlands was signed in Iran on February 2, 1971.
The original purpose of this Convention was to preserve waterfowl habitats, but over time the goal of the event has been expanded: nowadays, World Wetlands Day is aimed at conserving and sustainably using these ecosystems, which is extremely important for nature.
According to the church calendar, today is the Presentation of the Lord.
According to legend, there was a custom in Judaea when newborn babies were brought to the temple for dedication: boys on the 40th day and girls on the 80th day after birth. The parents of Jesus Christ also brought Him for dedication.
It was there that he was met by the righteous Simeon, to whom God had promised to show the Savior before his death. The old man praised the newborn child as the Son of God. These words were confirmed by the prophetess Anna, who said that her eyes had seen the Messiah.
On February 2, Gabriel, Vasyl, and Simeon celebrate their namesakes.