I spent most of today on the flight to LA but after we’d landed, checked into our AirBnB and seen a bit of the city we crashed out. To celebrate Groundhog Day we watched the CBS coverage of Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and not seeing his shadow, predicting an early spring for us all.
The fact that the Groundhog is called Punxsutawney Phil raised many questions for me which then led me to the official Punxsutawney Groundhog Cub website where I read up on the history of the day.
“The History
The Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day has become most commonly associated with the current celebration, but it’s roots are older than that. The celebration started in Christianity as the day, (February 2nd), when Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. This, they felt, would bring blessings to their household for the remaining winter.
As time rolled on the day evolved into another form. The following English folk song highlights the transition to weather prognostication.
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
This “interpretation” of Candlemas Day became the norm for most of Europe. As you can read, there is no mention of an animal of any kind in the preceding song. It wasn’t until this traditional belief was introduced to Germany that an animal was introduced into the lore, hence another evolution of February 2nd. If, according to German lore, the hedgehog saw his shadow on Candlemas Day there would be a “Second Winter” or 6 more weeks of bad weather. As German settlers came to what is now the United States, so too came their traditions and folklore. With the absence of hedgehogs in the United States, a similar hibernating animal was chosen. This leads us to yet another evolution in the legend and to present day Punxsutawney.”
I then went down a slight Internet rabbit hole and man is this holiday crazy!
“According to the lore, there is only one Phil, and all other groundhogs are impostors. It is claimed that this one groundhog has lived to make weather prognostications since 1886, sustained by drinks of “groundhog punch” or “elixir of life” administered at the annual Groundhog Picnic in the fall. In this respect, Punxsutawney Phil is unique; the lifespan of a groundhog in the wild is roughly six years.
According to the Groundhog Club, Phil, after the prediction, speaks to the club president in Groundhogese, which only the current president can understand, and then his prediction is translated for the entire world.”
I then also decided to research what the difference is between a Marmot and a Groundhog as they both have celebration days today and the groundhog in the video sure looks a lot like what I would call a marmot? Turns they're the same thing! I learnt a thing!
Groundhog day… 7/10 interesting as a weird tradition and kind of novel to watch it while I'm in the US. It definitely sent me to some of the weirder parts on the Internet today.