Groundhog Day is a lighthearted tradition that millions of people enjoy each February, and the custom may have much older roots than celebrants realize.
The American Folklife Center and Veterans History Project notes that folklorist Don Yoder, in his book “Groundhog Day,” traced the origins of the holiday to pre-Christian festivals that also led to holidays like Halloween.
Yoder asserted the timing of the festival that is now celebrated as the holiday Groundhog Day, which falls in between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, symbolizes how significant and anticipated changes in the seasons were within pre-Christian society. That’s one reason why the festival that served as a precursor to Groundhog Day survived when western European societies became Christianized.
