Today is Groundhog Day! Back in the day when I worked as a paralegal, my boss loved Groundhog Day. It was her favorite holiday of the year. She brought in donuts and other goodies to celebrate. Prior to that, I had never paid attention to Groundhog Day but now I remember with much fondness Betty’s enthusiasm for this furry little prognosticator of springtime.
Even though it’s not a federal holiday, Americans tune in to see if the famed groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, sees his shadow every year on the same day, February 2. The festivities begin at sunrise at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Groundhog Day’s roots are in the Christian holiday Candlemas, the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. During Candlemas, Christians honored the changing of the seasons and lit candles to predict how long winter would last.
The first official Groundhog Day happened on February 2, 1887, in the very town it is celebrated in today. The celebrations made a permanent home at Gobbler’s Knob the following year. According to History.com, it was a newspaper editor and groundhog hunter who declared Phil, a groundhog from Punxsutawney, the true predictor.
Unfortunately for Phil fanatics, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the groundhog has “no predictive skill.” In fact, he’s only gotten it right about 40% of the time. Oh well, whether Phil sees his shadow or not, winter is here for six more weeks. But one thing is for sure, daylight hours are getting longer.
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