lost in translation

Maybe it's because I didn't get the day off this year, but I forgot that today is, of course, Groundhog Day. Bad news--everyone's favorite Groundhog meteorologist predicts another six weeks of winter.

Instead of the usual biased American coverage, I thought to myself, what does the rest of the World think? The below is excerpted from the Bangkok Post:

US Groundhog Day: More winter coming

Thousands gathered in a Pennsylvania village Thursday to get a furry rodent's much-anticipated forecast on Groundhog Day: more winter or an early spring?

When Punxsutawney Phil came out of his mound in the early morning, he cast a shadow - the signal for another six weeks of winter, according to the popular 120-year-old tradition. Punxsutawney Phil, named after the town near Pittsburgh where the annual festivities are held, did his job in a ritual that historians date back to early German settlers in Pennsylvania.

According to legend, if the groundhog casts no shadow, and presumably is not frightened back into its hole, winter will fade quickly and spring will be early. A shadow often sends him scurrying for safety. Phil is awakened from his winter sleep at sunrise every February 2 by city officials in tuxedoes and top hats, who pound a special sceptre on the ground to rouse the groundhog out of his winter sleep.

Somehow that makes it all sound silly.