Funny Holidays - Hedgehog Day

In the world, for every day there is always some kind of holiday, or even two or three We have all heard about some, while others are celebrated only in certain countries, where they are given special significance There is also a special category of funny holidays that are designed to simply cheer people up This is what Hedgehog Day, which is celebrated on February 2, refers to This holiday has a “double” - Groundhog Day It is also celebrated on February 2 in the USA and Canada Based on the behavior of marmots on this day, “weather forecasts” are made In cloudy weather, the animal fearlessly leaves the hole, which marks the imminent end of winter On sunny days, the groundhog may be afraid of its own shadow and refuse to leave the hole It is believed that this is a sure sign of a long winter The most interesting thing is that Groundhog Day came from Hedgehog Day The holiday is much older than many might think Even the inhabitants of Ancient Rome woke up hedgehogs on February 2 in order to make predictions for the coming months based on their behavior When the formerly great empire fell, its traditions were adopted by a number of other European states A similar holiday later appeared in Germany, but the Germans trusted other meteorologists of the animal world - badgers Various sources contain information that they tried to predict the weather based on the behavior of bears, although this is hard to believe It was the Germans, who adopted the holiday from the Romans, who added this tradition to the USA, where there were no hedgehogs or badgers, but there were marmots Today Hedgehog Day has joined the ranks of forgotten holidays It was replaced by Groundhog Day, which was first successfully integrated into American culture and then popularized throughout the world Most people associate hedgehogs with cute, funny animals that timidly wander around at night and happily accept gifts from humans in the form of a saucer of milk This image was created in cartoons and children's books, where families of hedgehogs wander single file through the forest to their hole, pricking apples and mushrooms on needles In fact, hedgehogs are cunning and dangerous predators with sharp teeth that don’t even eat apples These fruits are used for completely different purposes According to one version, apples impaled on needles release juice, which contains a lot of acid It gets on the skin of the animal and destroys the parasites that bite it The bites cause severe itching, and because of the needles the animal cannot stop it and scratch itself Other scientists believe this is a misconception, and that hedgehogs are generally not capable of pricking food on their needles Hedgehogs are omnivorous animals They feed mainly on worms, caterpillars, beetles and snails, but will never deny themselves the pleasure of eating lizards, bird eggs, frogs or baby mice Hedgehogs prefer berries from plant foods Giving them cow's milk is not a good idea This product is not included in their natural diet, so hedgehogs do not have enzymes to break down lactose Although the animals will happily drink the contents of a saucer carefully left by a person, milk causes poisoning in them with an upset stomach and can even lead to death If you really want to please the night guest, it is better to give him some minced meat, boiled liver, raw fish, eggs or fruit Under no circumstances should animals be treated to meat with skin Pieces of chicken or turkey will cause gastronomic ecstasy in them, but the fatty skin can provoke intestinal volvulus By the way, this rule applies not only to hedgehogs, but also to pets that eat meat Hedgehogs go out hunting exclusively at night They never go far from their burrows and jealously protect their own territory from their relatives They have poor eyesight, which they compensate for with excellent hearing They jump, swim and run quite quickly, with good maneuverability Hedgehogs do not like their relatives and prefer to live alone, leaving their mother within a month after birth These charming animals live next door to us Scientists have found that more and more hedgehogs are moving closer to cities, where their natural enemies - owls and badgers - are not present On Hedgehog Day, don’t forget to leave the house and put out a treat for the night guest, who will not fail to drop by for a peek during his next outing