Groundhog Day

Well yesterday was February 2nd which takes host in perhaps one of the silliest holidays of modern day: Groundhog Day. It is a day in which a little rodent comes out of a hole and decides our meteorological fate for the next six weeks. Everyone knows how the superstition works, if the groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow then we are plagued with another six weeks of winter. However, if the groundhog in fact does not see his shadow, then it is a sign of an early spring. Is it just me or does it seem like no matter what, the groundhog always ends up seeing his shadow anyways? Plus, what if it’s not even the shadow that scares him, could it possibly be the large group of people waiting outside his little hole to see what he does? I’d probably run back into my house too if I walked outside and was surrounded by a bunch of hooligans. Though, I have very little real knowledge about this holiday so I decided to do some research, just to see what it was really all about.

First of all, it apparently is just me who feels like he always sees his shadow, because according to a list of recent predictions by groundhogs, the results seem to be quite even actually. My real interest however, was in how this peculiar holiday was started and where it originated from. Currently it is celebrated in the U.S. and Canada, but originated from European cultures. The American version was said to have started as a Pennsylvania-German custom in the 18th and 19th centuries, however it holds resemblance to other European customs such as the day of Candlemas, which is a medieval Catholic holiday. One early account of a reference to Groundhog Day in America was found in a journal entry from a man in Pennsylvania in the year 1841.

Today the largest celebration of Groundhog Day takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which happens to be home of the most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. It’s said that they’ve had crowds of up to 40,000 people! It’s like I said earlier, maybe that’s why Phil is rushing back into his hole sometimes. I mean people must get the day off of work in that town just to go watch this little groundhog do his thing, which seems crazy to me. Perhaps I’ll never really understand all the hoopla involved with this holiday, but I at least have somewhat of a clearer picture. Oh by the way, Phil saw his shadow yesterday so stay bundled up!