February 02

For centuries, frozen stretches of the River Thames hosted bustling frost fairs with stalls, games, food, and performances. On February 2, 1814, the last recorded frost fair took place as a prolonged cold snap froze the river at its lowest bridge. Market vendors sold prints, toys, and warming refreshments between ice holes carved for fishing and river traffic. Visitors enjoyed sledges, puppet shows, and makeshift ovens under tents and wooden booths erected on the ice. As winters grew milder and river embankments altered flow, the Thames no longer froze solidly enough to support such gatherings. The 1814 frost fair stands as a nostalgic symbol of communal winter festivities in historic London.

On February 2, 1887, residents of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held the first Groundhog Day celebration. Inspired by Germanic weather lore, townspeople watched Punxsutawney Phil emerge from his burrow to predict the length of winter. According to tradition, if the groundhog saw its shadow, six more weeks of winter were expected; no shadow signaled an early spring. Local newspapers publicized the event and spread the quirky custom beyond western Pennsylvania. Over time, Groundhog Day grew into a cultural phenomenon celebrated across North America with festivals, media coverage, and pilgrimages to Punxsutawney. Today, Phil's predictions are covered by national news outlets, and thousands of visitors flock to Gobbler's Knob each February.

In January 1925, a deadly diphtheria outbreak threatened the isolated community of Nome, Alaska. With ice and blizzard conditions grounding all other transport, teams of sled dogs carried antitoxin serum over 674 miles from Nenana. Relay mushers navigated freezing temperatures and whiteout snow to deliver the precious medicine on February 2. The final life-saving dose prevented a widespread epidemic and rescued many from imminent infection. This heroic effort, known as the "Great Race of Mercy", captured national attention. Today, the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates the courage and endurance of those mushers and their dogs.