Feb 02 2009
Groundhog Day, How Does it Work?
Every year on February 2nd thousands of people flock to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for festivities and the prediction of the most famous groundhog in the world, Punxsutawney Phil. Also, every year on February 2nd, when the rest of the world gets the news, the debate begins on what it means if the groundhog saw or didn’t see its shadow. Just tonight, a news anchor who was trying to explain the logistics of the shadow confused herself. If he sees his shadow, what does it mean? Why a groundhog? Here is a brief history and explanation that’s sure to answer all of your Punxsutawney questions.
Groundhog Day originated in the 1700’s by the people who settled Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, believed in the legend of Candlemans Day. If the sun shone on Candlemans Day, so far the snow will swirl in May,” or so the legend goes. Candlemans Day fell in the middle of Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Clergymen would bless candles to be placed in everyone’s windows.
The earliest recorded reference to Groundhog Day in America is displayed at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, and is dated February 4th, 1841. It explains that German settlers believe that if the Groundhog peeps out of his winter home and sees his shadow, he naps for six more weeks, but if it’s cloudy, he stays up.
Originally, the Germans were watching a badger for its shadow, but in Pennsylvania, it was replaced by the Groundhog. In 1886, a newspaper editor named Clymer Freas printed in The Punxsutawney Spirit, “Today is Groundhog Day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow.”
Then, the groundhog was given the name “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”. Suddenly, Punxsutawney was named the “Weather Capital of the World.”
On his first appearance, there was no shadow, which meant there would be an early spring. The next year, the tradition of going to Gobbler’s Knob began.
Today, Punxsutawney is still a fairly small town of under ten thousand people, but on February 2nd every year, thousands flock to Gobbler’s Knob to see the famous groundhog predict the coming of spring.
In 1993, a movie starring Bill Murray called ‘Groundhog Day’ created an even bigger buzz for the annual ritual visit to Gobbler’s Knob. Suddenly thousands of people became tens of thousands of people.
Just how often does Punxsutawney Phil get it right? According to http://www.groundhog.org/about/ he gets it right 100 percent of the time and is 120 years old. In reality, the guessing groundhog only gets it right 39% of the time. Since the first official trip to Gobbler’s Knob, he’s seen his shadow 97 times, no shadow 15 times, and there is no record for 9 years of the festivities.
February 2nd, 2009 marks the 123rd trip to Gobbler’s Knob for Punxsutawney Phil’s official prognostication. Among the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be fireworks, fun, and the official prediction at about 7:25 a.m. Eastern Time.
Most Oregonians won’t be awake when the groundhog shows himself, which will be at about 4:25 our time, but every morning news show will be doing a report on the famous fur ball.
Want to celebrate with a movie and your favorite brew? Alberta Street Pub will be showing the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ at 9 p.m. Alberta Street Pub is located at 1036 NE Alberta Street.
