Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Daily Holidays - February 2
Heavenly Hash Day
National Pisco Sour Day A Pisco Sour is a cocktail typical of South American cuisine.[A] The drink's name comes from pisco, which is its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and sweetener components. The Peruvian Pisco Sour uses Peruvian pisco as the base liquor and adds Key lime (or lemon) juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. The Chilean version is similar, but uses Chilean pisco and Pica lime, and excludes the bitters and egg white. Other variants of the cocktail include those created with fruits like pineapple or plants such as coca leaves.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_Sour
Crepe Day
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day (Canadian French: Jour de la Marmotte; Pennsylvania German: Grundsaudaag, Murmeltiertag) is a day celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks.[1]
Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow.
In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge,[2] social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime, or quarter per word spoken, with the money put into a bowl in the center of the table.[3]
The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with Punxsutawney Phil. Groundhog Day, already a widely recognized and popular tradition,[4] received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day.[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day
Marmot Day Marmot Day is an Alaskan holiday established to celebrate marmots and Alaskan culture. Although local festivals have been part and parcel of frontier life for decades, Marmot Day became an official holiday on April 18, 2009, when the 26th Alaska State Legislature officially passed Senate Bill 58.[1] Marmot Day is celebrated on February 2, replacing Groundhog Day with a holiday honoring Alaska's marmots. From Juneau[2] to Anchorage[3] to Fairbanks,[4] and all the cities in between, Marmot Day has become an Alaskan institution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmot_Day
Sled Dog Day
Running through snow all day, every day, pulling a sled that can weigh hundreds if not thousands of pounds—that’s a sled dog’s job. Don’t you think they might deserve a little recognition? February 2nd is the official holiday of the sled dog that we can safely say man would not have managed very well at all without.
The History of Sled Dog Day
Sled dogs are thought to have evolved in the mountainous regions of Northern Asia over 35,000 years ago, but are thought to have started actually pulling sleds for people about 3,000 years ago, when hunting and fishing communities were forced to move further up north to Siberia. From there, they made their way to Lapland, Alaska, Canada and even Greenland. Historical references to actual dog harnesses far outdate the first European contact with the native peoples of Alaska and Canada. In fact, it was the Alaskan gold rush that really got the American population interested in the use of sled dogs as a form of transportation, as most gold camps were only accessible by dogsled in the winter months. In fact, for a long while, dogsleds were the only relatively dependable way of transporting anything in the harsh Alaska and Yukon weather conditions, until airplanes finally took over in the 1930s. Dogsleds were also used to patrol western Alaska as late as World War II. After that, mushing became largely recreational. One of sled dogs’ most impressive achievements was the 1925 serum run from Nome to Nenana. With a diptheria threatening the lives of people in Nome and the serum needed being 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) away in the town of Nenana, hundreds of people may have died if not for the 20 dogsled teams that worked together to relay the serum to Nome. In the end, the serum reached Nome in only 6 days, saving the lives of many. Also, the first Arctic explorers were men with sled dogs. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/sled-dog-day/
World Play Your Ukulele Day
World Wetlands Day
The Ramsar Convention (formally, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands,[1] recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Convention
14 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
hopefully that storm will deal with the whole see the shadow thing.
Hope that you can stay in and stay safe!
Just looked outside and the snow has started here. I was kinda hoping that it was going to be exaggerated, as it was just last week, but this looks like the real thing, expecting heavy snow here in New York until 6pm tonight. And it's hardly an isolated storm, seems to be hitting everywhere from Chicago East, so I'm picturing them waking that poor sleeping groundhog and setting him down in a foot of cold wet snow. 
There is over 6 inches of fresh snow since last night. 
I can barely see across the street and the wind doesn't help. My dog just let me know he's not going out there and I don't blame him... Last week was nothing compared to this... 
Your pup is less than 1/3 the size of my Miss Pia so I can understand why it doesn't want to venture out.
We clear a space for the pup, since he's small, but he really hates the snow, and all he had to do was look outside and he backed right away from the door. And I didn't measure, watched the noon news, looks like every school is closed, most events cancelled, and there are numerous accidents on the Northway. I'm just grateful to be inside and that there's nowhere I have to be... 
LOL
