Dear au pairs,

In New Orleans, with our beautiful winter weather, we don’t particularly care what the groundhog says, but your au pair friends in the North, especially Pennsylvania, awaited February 2nd eagerly to see if spring is coming. And what does groundhog have to do with the spring?  Well, see below.

Groundhog Day in the US is February 2nd, when the groundhog, also known as whistle pig, wakes up from hibernation and climbs out of its burrow. On a sunny day it sees its shadow and goes back to sleep for six weeks because a sunny day indicates a late spring, Cloudy day and no shadow means winter is over! German settlers who brought this tradition from their native country celebrated the first official Groundhog Day on February 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

To find out more about Groundhog Day traditions and see some cute pics you can go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/02/groundhog-day-facts-2013-trivia_n_2600485.html