Well, it will be in a couple of hours! And, to properly prepare you for the exciting day where we trust a rodent to predict the weather instead of the television meteorologists, I have decided to do a special post where I tell you more about the history of this quirky celebration. In my family, this holiday means a special screening of the classic Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day. If you have not seen it, I can tell you that you are truly missing out! It really is one of his best films; right up there with Lost in Translation. Different cinematic styles, of course, but both high-quality.
Groundhog Day, an event perhaps most widely celebrated in Punxsutawney, PA, occurs every February 2nd. If the groundhog emerges from his hole and sees his shadow, it signifies that winter will be elongated by 6 weeks. Now, here in Boulder we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow tomorrow, so I am going to go ahead and predict the prediction of Punxsutawney Phil (the famous groundhog in PA)- 6 more weeks of winter. I hope the little guy says otherwise.
Wikipedia tells me that the tradition began as a Pennsylvania German tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries. The origins of the celebration come from ancient Europe lore which claimed that a badger or a bear could forsee the weather. There is an early American reference to the holiday written by James Morris in 1841. He called the holiday Candlemas day, and he noted in his diary that, according the the Germans, "the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate".
I hope you enjoyed that little lesson! To conclude, a picture of a groundhog, just because they are adorable:
AWWW so cute!
Groundhog Day, an event perhaps most widely celebrated in Punxsutawney, PA, occurs every February 2nd. If the groundhog emerges from his hole and sees his shadow, it signifies that winter will be elongated by 6 weeks. Now, here in Boulder we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow tomorrow, so I am going to go ahead and predict the prediction of Punxsutawney Phil (the famous groundhog in PA)- 6 more weeks of winter. I hope the little guy says otherwise.
Wikipedia tells me that the tradition began as a Pennsylvania German tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries. The origins of the celebration come from ancient Europe lore which claimed that a badger or a bear could forsee the weather. There is an early American reference to the holiday written by James Morris in 1841. He called the holiday Candlemas day, and he noted in his diary that, according the the Germans, "the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate".
I hope you enjoyed that little lesson! To conclude, a picture of a groundhog, just because they are adorable:
AWWW so cute!
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