A DIFFERENT SORT OF HOLIDAY

Current Project: Chasing Rainbows
Status: On my "to do" list while promo continues for my February 27 release, STARS IN YOUR EYES

Some people's favorite holiday is Christmas. Others love Valentine's Day. However, I'm intrigued by the more off-beat holidays, including Ground Hog Day, which is celebrated on Feb. 2.

An "official" ground hog site on the Internet claims Ground Hog Day grew out of a mainly German superstition that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 -- the Christian holiday of Candlemas -- that winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will be early.

What do ground hogs have to do with writing, you might ask? Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been celebrating this holiday since 1886 and claims perhaps the most famous ground hog, Punxsutawney Phil. You can visit his Web site at *http://www.groundhog.org/info* to enjoy some creative writing "facts," such as...

--Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting ground hog. The others are just impostors.

-- How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years! Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Ground hog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

Now, if you lean more toward nonfiction, you might want to consider these fascinating facts:

-- Ground hogs are the largest members of the squirrel family. Though they are usually seen on the ground, they can climb trees and are also capable swimmers.

-- Ground hogs are excellent burrowers, using burrows for sleeping, rearing young, and hibernating. The average ground hog has been estimated to move approximately 1 m³ (35 cubic feet), or 320 kg (700 pounds), of dirt when digging a burrow.

-- Ground hogs are also known as wood chucks. Though they don't chuck wood, perhaps you've heard the tongue twister, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

-- When alarmed, ground hogs use a high-pitched whistle to warn the rest of the colony.

-- Though they are celebrated as being able to predict the onset of spring, ground hogs are considered pests in many agricultural areas.

If you are would like to celebrate Ground Hog Day with your kids or grandkids, try this Web site of kindergarten age activities: *http://www.geocities.com/athens/aegean/2221/groundhog.html*.

How about you? Do you like the more traditional holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas? Or do you enjoy something different? If so, why? Have you ever written a story about an off-beat holiday?