Hedgehog Day

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Hedgehog Day was observed by the Romans during the Festival of Februa on February 2. It was believed that when a hibernating hedgehog emerged from its den on Hedgehog Day and saw its shadow, there was six more weeks of winter.

The basis for this observation most likely comes from the statistical observation that a clear moon in early February is more common with longer winters than shorter ones.

This popular holiday in Europe was then copied by the original American settlers as Groundhog Day, replacing the hedgehog with a groundhog since there are no native hedgehogs in the Americas.

"Hedgehog Day" is also a story featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, a parody of Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray movie about the weatherman who is forced to relive the events of a day over and over again. In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book adventure, Sonic keeps reliving the unfortunate events of a day of festivities in his honor. Either he is caught in a Time Warp, or he is having a recurring nightmare. In any case, he keeps missing the celebration and ends up in the hospital. However, the story has a happy ending, as Sonic finally manages to wake up early and arrive at the park without accident. (Sonic the Hedgehog # 167, December 2006).