Groundhog Day has come and gone and the results are in: the shadow has been sighted. Winter will continue for six more weeks. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club is stationed in Punxsutawney, Penn., as well as the official animal himself, Punxsutawney Phil. Since 1886, the club has been trusted as the official source of the Groundhog Day prediction.
Phil spotted his shadow on the morning of Feb. 2 in front of a crowd of thousands, many of who were in high spirits over the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl win the day before.
Throughout its existence, Groundhog Day has become a holiday of much speculation and celebration. The most famous ceremony is held in Punxsutawney, but some other notable festivals are held in Frederick, Md. and Shenandoah Valley, Va. as well as Amish communities throughout the United States and Canada.
The origins of Groundhog Day are linked to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas, also called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which is also on Feb. 2 each year. It also resembles the Pagan seasonal festival Imbolc, celebrated on Feb. 1. The early traditions of Imbolc involved observing if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens.
One of the earliest American references to the holiday was found in the diary of a Pennsylvania shopkeeper named James Morris in 1841.
“Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six week nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate,” the journal entry says.
The holiday is also celebrated in other places around the world but under different titles. In Germany, June 27 is known as “Siebenschlafertag” or Seven Sleepers Day. If it rains on this day, it is believed that the rest of the summer will be rainy.
In the United Kingdom, July 15 is St. Swithun’s Day. At one time the belief was that rain on this day meant continuous rain for 40 days and nights. Now the more realistic belief is that the following summer will have more precipitaion than average.
The National Climatic Data Center released a study regarding the percentage of accuracy regarding the groundhog’s sightings. The groundhog is correct 39 percent of the time.
In popular culture, the holiday gained a greater amount of attention following the release of Columbia Pictures’ 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” which was set in Punxsutawney and even featured Phil himself.
Whether or not Phil will be correct in his prediction this year is uncertain, but the anticipation and excitement caused by the simple sighting of a shadow (or not) is undisputable.
