Several cultures throughout the world celebrate customs strikingly similar to Groundhog Day 鈥� many around the same time 鈥� all in the spirit of predicting the weather.
鈥� In Serbia, Feb. 15 is the feast of Sretenje or The Meeting of the Lord, where it is believed that a bear will awake from hibernating, and if it sees his shadow, it will go back to sleep for 40 more days, thus prolonging the winter.
鈥� In Portugal, Feb. 2 is Candel谩ria Day or the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, where it is said if it鈥檚 a sunny day, more winter is still to come, but if it鈥檚 a cloudy or rainy day, spring will arrive soon.
鈥� In Germany, June 27 is Siebenschl盲fertag or Seven Sleepers Day, where it is believed that if it鈥檚 raining that day, the rest of the summer will also be rainy. Curiously, 蝉颈别产别苍蝉肠丑濒盲蹿别谤 is the German name for a kind of rodent, but the festival celebrates the martyrdom of seven 海角大神 brothers.
鈥� In the United Kingdom, July 15 is St. Swithun鈥檚 Day, where it was traditionally believed if it rained that day, it would rain for the next 40 days and nights.
鈥� In Alaska, Feb. 2 is known as Marmot Day rather than Groundhog Day because few groundhogs live in the state. The holiday was signed into law in 2009 by then-Gov. Sarah Palin.
