Daily Almanac for Sunday February 2, 2025: Groundhog Day!

By Tatiana Ponil

Groundhog displaying its incisors. 2021 photo By Mousebelt – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

Learn all about Groundhog Day!

It’s no accident that Groundhog Day and Candlemas are celebrated together, for both signify the triumph of light over darkness, spring over winter.

Candlemas was originally a Celtic festival marking the “cross-quarter day,” or midpoint of the season. The Sun is halfway on its advance from the winter solstice to the spring equinox. The Christian church expanded this festival of light to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and her presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple. Candlelit processions accompanied the feast day.
Since the traditional Candlemas celebration anticipated the planting of crops, a central focus of the festivities was the forecasting of either an early spring or a lingering winter. Sunshine on Candlemas was said to indicate the return of winter. Similarly, “When the wind’s in the east on Candlemas Day / There it will stick till the second of May.”
A bear brought the forecast to the people of France and England, while those in Germany looked to a badger for a sign. In the 1800s, German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought their Candlemas legends with them. Finding no badgers but lots of groundhogs, or woodchucks, there, they adapted the New World species to fit the lore.
Today that lore has grown into a full-blown festival, with Punxsutawney Phil presiding. For all things, groundhog, visit the folks at Punxsutawney and see what Phil is predicting this year.

Famous model Christie Brinkley is 71 today. She is seen here at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model. Brinkley appeared on an unprecedented three consecutive covers of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues in 1979, 1980, and 1981. She spent 25 years as the face of CoverGirl; has appeared on over 500 magazine covers; and has signed contracts with major brands, both fashion and non-fashion.

Brinkley went on to work as an actress, illustrator, television personality, photographer, writer, designer, and activist for human and animal rights and the environment. Brinkley has been married four times, including to musician Billy Joel between 1985 and 1994, having appeared in several of his music videos. Her fourth marriage, to architect Peter Cook, ended in a much-publicized 2008 divorce. Magazines such as Allure and Men’s Health have named Brinkley one of the most attractive women of all time.

Brinkley was born Christie Lee Hudson in Monroe, Michigan, on February 2, 1954, the daughter of Marjorie (née Bowling) and Herbert Hudson.

Her family moved to Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, where her mother Marjorie later met and married television writer Donald Brinkley in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Donald adopted Christie and her brother Greg Brinkley. During this time, the family lived in Malibu and then the Brentwood neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Brinkley was educated at Paul Revere Junior High School and attended Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles from 9th to 12th grade.

After graduation in 1972, she moved to Paris to study art.

Brinkley was discovered in 1973 by American photographer Errol Sawyer in a post office in Paris. He took her first modeling pictures and introduced her to John Casablancas of Elite Model Management agency in Paris. Brinkley stated later: “I was basically a surfer girl from California. I never looked like a model.” After being introduced to Elite, where Brinkley met the fashion photographers Patrick Demarchelier and Mike Reinhardt who called Eileen Ford and told her about Brinkley, she returned to California, and by the end of a lunch meeting with Nina Blanchard (Eileen Ford affiliate in Los Angeles) she had been booked for three national ad campaigns.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Question of the Day

How often has the groundhog really predicted the coming of spring?

According to researchers, the groundhog has accurately predicted the coming of spring only 39 percent of the time.

Advice of the Day

Pesto sauce will keep its bright color in pasta that is cooked with a few drops of lemon juice.

Home Hint of the Day

On a relatively warm (40¡ F) February or March day, spray fruit trees with dormant oil to smother insect masses. You can buy the spray at a farm supply store and rent a sprayer there if necessary.

Word of the Day

Climate

The long-term atmospheric conditions of an area; the “average” weather conditions, along with normal variations and extremes.

Puzzle of the Day

Why are teeth like verbs?

Because they are regular, irregular, and defective.

Born

  • Havelock Ellis (scientist) – 
  • James Joyce (author) – 
  • William Rose Benet (poet) – 
  • Charles Correll (actor) – 
  • George Halas (football player) – 
  • Gale Gordon (actor) – 
  • Ann Fogarty (fashion designer) – 
  • James Dickey (poet) – 
  • Stan Getz (musician) – 
  • Thomas Smothers III (comedian) – 
  • Bo Hopkins (actor) – 
  • Graham Nash (musician ) – 
  • Farrah Fawcett (actress) – 
  • Jessica Savitch (broadcast journalist) – 
  • Christie Brinkley (model) – 
  • Michael Weiss (champion figure skater) – 
  • Shakira (singer) – 

Died

  • Boris Karloff (actor) – 
  • Bertrand Russell (mathematician & philosopher) – 
  • Gene Kelly (dancer & actor) – 
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman (actor) – 

Events

  • Cardiff Giant hoax revealed – 
  • The Knights of Columbus formed, New Haven, CT – 
  • Grand Central Terminal, the great train station of New York City, opened. Over 150,000 people visited on opening day – 
  • Charlie Chaplin made his film debut in Making a Living – 
  • The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV – 

Weather

  • The Wabash River in Indiana crested nine feet above flood stage – 
  • Groundhog Day gale hit northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada – 
  • An East Coast blizzard brought winds up to 50 mph and below-zero temperatures – 

 

COURTESY www.almanac.com