If you hear mention of Groundhog Day, chances are you think of the famous weather-predicting rodent from Pennsylvania. This Groundhog is the only mammal to have a day named in its honor. How did this happen?
According to legend, if the Groundhog (also known as a woodchuck, a kind of marmot) sees its shadow on February 2nd when it leaves its burrow after hibernation, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. He will be afraid of his shadow and return to his burrow to wait for warmer weather. But, if he does not see his shadow, there is a good chance that spring is on its way.
This folkloric tradition goes back many centuries to the distant past when nature and the seasons had a bigger influence on people's lives. These traditions guided ordinary folk, such as helping farmers know when they should plant their crops. The tradition behind Groundhog Day stems from similar beliefs associated with pagan Candlemas Day, or Festival of Lights, which falls in the mid point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. The Roman legions carried this tradition to the north in Europe, to the Teutons (or Germans) and to the English. The early Christians in Europe took the symbolism of the pagan tradition of lights and used the day as the time to bless all the candles that would be used in the coming liturgical year and to distribute candles to people in the dark winter. For them, the weather on that day was also important; if the sun came out, it meant six more weeks of winter. The Catholic Church also called this day the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Nowadays, this day is mostly connected to weather lore.
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 of weather prediction was brought to the USA in the 1700s and 1800s by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. In Germany they used the badger (or some say, the hedgehog) as their predicting animal, but the new immigrants 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). The Delaware Indians had settled in Punxsutawney in the early 1700s and they considered groundhogs as honorable ancestors. Pennsylvania's official celebration of Groundhog Day began in 1886 when the editor of the local Punxsutawney newspaper proclaimed the town the "Weather Capital of the World" and gave the animal his name - Punxsutawney Phil, or just Phil.
Punxsutawney Phil has become one of the most famous weather forecasters in the USA, and Groundhog Day has evolved into a big tourist event. But Phil's fame may be too much for his small hometown to handle as it now hosts various festivities. Punxsutawney is a sleepy town of about 6,100 people. Each year on February 2nd, Phil is rousted from his burrow, as crowds of tens of thousands of people gather to watch him emerge from his nest (some years the numbers have been as high as 35,000).
Events are held from late January 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 Griffiths (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 to their town and its tradition. The movie stars comedian Bill Murray as a TV weatherman sent to Punxsutawney to report on the groundhog ceremony.
However, 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 and also in Canada have their own Groundhog Day festivities: Check the local newspapers. They are all a lot of fun, and Phil even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995.
Note: This year, 2009, an estimated 13,000 people gathered in the misty snow. Phil saw his shadow, was afraid and went back into his burrow, therefore not predicting an early spring (which certainly seems true at time of writing this and I watch more snow falling!).
How accurate is Phil?
The National Geographic Society has said that the accuracy of the groundhog's predictions is only around 28% over 60 years. His official website says it's around 35%.
Lots more Information, much of it for teachers and children:
http://familyinternet.about.com/od/holidayfun/a/grou ndhog.htm
www.groundhogs.com (for stories and games)