This
is the only
Mammal to have a day
named in its honor.
Why?
According to legend, if the Groundhog (also known as a woodchuck, a kind of marmot) sees its shadow when it leaves its burrow after hibernation, there will be 6 more weeks of winter weather. He will be afraid of his shadow and return to his burrow. But, if he does not see his shadow, there is a good chance that spring is on its way.
This legend goes back many centuries to the distant past when nature did influence people's lives, such as helping farmers know when they should plant their crops. The animal tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with pagan Candlemas Day, which falls in the mid point between winter solstice and spring equinox. The Roman legions carried this tradition to the north, to the Teutons (or Germans) and the English.
An old English Candlemas song goes like this:
If
Candlemas be sunny
and bright,
winter
again will show its
might.
If
Candlemas day be cloudy
and grey
winter soon
will pass away.
This
tradition was brought
to the USA by the Germans
who settled in Pennsylvania.
In Germany they used
the badger (or some
say, the hedgehog)
as their predicting
animal, but they could
not find badgers in
Pennsylvania, so they
adopted the groundhog.
The tradition with
the groundhog started
in the town of Punxsutawney
in Pennsylvania, where
the earliest American
reference to Groundhog
Day is February 4th,
1841 (in the Pennsylvania
Dutch Folklore Center).
Therefore, the groundhog
is also called Punxsutawney
Phil, or just Phil.
The Delaware Indians
had settled in Punxsutawney
in the early 1700s
and they considered
groundhogs as honorable
ancestors.
In Canada, the bear is sometimes used.
Punxsutawney
Phil has become one
of the most famous
weather forecasters
in the USA, and Groundhog
Day has become a big
tourist event. But
his fame may be too
much for his small hometown
to handle as they now
host various festivities.
Punxsutawney is a sleepy
town of about 6,100
people. Each year on
February 2nd (Groundhog
Day), Phil is rousted
from his burrow, as
crowds of tens of thousands
of people gather to
watch him emerge from
his nest. Events are
held from February
1st to February 3rd,
with the highlight
being
on the morning of February
2nd. The crowds gather
on Gobbler's Knob,
which opens at 3am,
with a bonfire, waiting
for Phil's appearance
at 7:25am. Up on Gobbler's
Knob, Phil is placed
in a heated burrow
underneath an artificial
tree trunk on a stage
before he is pulled
out at 7:25am to make
his annual prediction.
According to his new local handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffith (Bill Deeley retired), Phil weighs 15 pounds and thrives on dog food (and sometimes icecream!) in his climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library.
Town officials credit the 1993 hit movie Groundhog Day for most of the increased attention. The movie starred comedian Bill Murray as a TV weatherman sent to Punxsutawney to report on the groundhog ceremony.
Not
everyone in town is
happy about the event's
increased popularity.
The groundhog
ceremony
was traditionally a
family event that parents
and children could
enjoy together. But
frequently now thousands
of rowdy college students
jam into the town square.
Loud music blares and
some students even
strip down to their
underwear and prance
around in sub-freezing
temperatures. The town
council and police
had to work out ways
to control the groundhog
fans, so, for example,
there are two viewing
areas on Gobbler's
Knob, one for families,
and one for students.
Many other towns around the USA also have their own Groundhog Day festivities: Check the local newspapers. All a lot of fun, and Phil even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995.
Note: In 2007, more than 15,000 people gathered in the misty snow. Phil didn't see his shadow, and predicted an early spring (which wasn't true at time of writing this!).
JustSayGO Travel Show
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