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It's Groundhog Day and the Forecast is...
Rodent Weather Predictions For Spring (or
Not)
Oh, no. Phil saw his shadow.
Other groundhog predictions at the end of this article...
By: John Shepler
As dawn breaks on Gobbler's Knob, a buzz of anticipation begins
to run through the gathering crowd. Burrowed inside his simulated
tree trunk, Punxsutawney Phil is about to be pulled from his
heated abode to render the most celebrated weather forecast of
the year. Can we lift our spirits with the thought that spring
is just around the corner ...or must we steel ourselves to the
bitter realization that there are six more weeks of winter?
Groundhog Day has its origins in the ancient celebration of Imbolc, a point mid-way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Superstition has it that fair weather was seen as forbearance of a stormy and cold second half to winter. The early Christians in Europe established the custom of Candlemas Day, when the clergy would bless candles and people would light them in each window of their homes to ward off the darkness of mid-winter. But the legend of the February 2nd forecast also persisted, as captured in this old English saying:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
In the Delaware area of early North America, the natives honored a creation story that said their original people, the Lenni Lenape, were once animals in mother earth and only centuries later emerged to live and hunt as men. Their ancient grandfather carried the name Oijik or Wojak, which later white settlers pronounced as "Woodchuck."
The logical merging of the German culture
of the Pennsylvania Dutch, who brought with them the superstition
of forecasting the weather based on the reaction of a hedgehog
seeing or not seeing its shadow on Candlemas day, and the American
Indian culture of revering the groundhog or woodchuck, culminated
in our current celebration of Groundhog Day on February 2. So
why is Punxsutawney, of all places, immortalized as the national
weather forecast center of Groundhog Day? Why not?
The trail
of history actually leads back to one man, Clymer H. Freas, city
editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper. In 1887, he was
inspired by a group of local hunters and gourmets who held a
groundhog hunt followed by a picnic barbecue of, well, you know.
Anyway, Freas though it so much fun that he wrote up the group
as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and went on to promote the
Punxsutawney Groundhog as the official weather forecaster. As
he embellished the story year after year, other newspapers picked
it up and soon everyone looked to Punxsutawney Phil for the critical
prediction of when spring would return to the nation.
The fame of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania reached a new high in 1990, with the release of the film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Bill is a cynical TV weatherman who gets trapped in time, reliving Feb. 2 over and over and over as he learns an important lesson in life. Now, is this just a romantic comedy or is there something like "a true meaning of Groundhog Day"?
Regardless, Punxsutawney can't keep something this big to
itself. Other prognosticating rodents are popping up, literally,
to claim a piece of the action. The notable contenders include
Sun Prairie Jimmy of Wisconsin; Tennessee Groundhog of Silver
Point, Tennessee; General Beauregard Lee, the Official Weather
Prognosticator of the State of Georgia; Wiarton Willie, an albino
groundhog who hails from Canada; and even Octorara Orphie of
Quarryville, Pennsylvania...competition right next door. Each
of these celebrated forecasters has a following that includes
locals, visitors and the media. The revered groundhogs typically
preside over festival events before making their grand appearance
to check for shadows on the morning of February 2.
So, are we taking this Groundhog Day thing maybe a bit too seriously? Or is it true that six weeks into winter we've had all we can take, and are desperate to grab at any shadow, yes shadow, of hope for relief from the cold, the snow, the icy roads, the salt and dirt all over the cars, that mush surrounding the mailbox at the end of the driveway, the penetrating air, the gloomy skies, the...Oh, No! I'm not sure I can handle it if the furry one sees himself as a sundial. Then again, a sunny day with blue skies would be a psychic boost all by itself. Gee, now I don't which way I want it to go.
Oh, well, why don't we just let the groundhogs decide. If we don't like the answer, well there's always a tasty barbecue of groundho...er, uh, I mean ground beef. Don't look at me like that. I didn't mean a thing, Phil. Really.
And now, without further adieu, the 2008 Groundhog Spring Predictions:
Punxsutawney Phil looked around and there, sadly, was his shadow on the ground. Pee Wee at Mile Square Farm in Vermont confirms. Oh, well. It's a mere six weeks extra. Won't last forever. It will just seem like it.
Things look better in the snow battered Midwest. No sun. No shadow for Sun Prairie Jimmy. Our newest local groundhog is Klifton at the Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Rockford, IL. He made his debut this morning and... NO shadow.
General Beau Lee has equally good news for the South. No shadow in Georgia. Not like it was going to get all Canada there anyway.
Speaking of Canada, Wiarton Willie saw nary a shadow this fine morning. Looks like an early spring up North.
Be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back again next February 2 for the another round of groundhog weather predictions.
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Books of Interest:
Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather
- Predicting
the weather isn't always easy--even for a groundhog. You will
laugh aloud at Geoffrey Groundhog's clever solution to his predicament,
when his fame makes seeing his shadow a problem.
Gretchen Groundhog, It's Your Day! - It's
almost Groundhog Day, and the town of Piccadilly is all a-buzz
because Gretchen Groundhog won't show herself. This is her first
year, and she's too shy to come out. Only when the town historian's
daughter shares records from the town's history does Gretchen
begin to see that for everyone, the first time is the hardest.
Full-color illustrations.
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check out Talk
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Also visit these related sites:
Punxsutawney Phil - The official site for Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. It includes the Legend of Groundhog Day plus Phil's story and suggested activities to celebrate his big day.
Chuck the Rockford Rodent - Our very own. Ok, he's actually a golf club cover fashioned in the likeness of the gopher from the movie "Caddy Shack." Hey, you work with what you've got.
Sun Prairie Jimmy - Claiming to hail for the official groundhog capital of the world, Jimmy lives with a nice family on a farm near this Wisconsin town. He's also my unofficial "real" groundhog because he lives closest.
Wiarton Willie's Home Page - He's an albino groundhog from Canada who claims a 90% prediction accuracy rate. See Wee Willie's forecast for Canada.
General Beauregard Lee - He's the official weather prognosticator for the State of Georgia, and represents the entire Southeast USA.
Dunkirk Dave - Visit Dave and his human friend Bob, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, in Dunkirk, New York.
Pee Wee - He's an adorable "spokeschuck" living at Mile Square Farm in Vermont.
Sir Walter Wally - Makes his home at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Wouldn't want to confuse him with Sir Walter Raleigh, who was let out of the Tower of London, saw his shadow, and was beheaded.
The Committee for the Commercialization of Groundhog Day
- Official Mascot Chuck Wood offers you links to his furry peers
and Groundhog Day sites everywhere.
More and More Groundhogs - If we haven't mentioned your favorite groundhog, check Groundhog Central. You'll find a complete and ever expanding list of furry prognosticators (and even a few wannabes) plus their predictions.
Famous Groundhogs From Around The World - Yes, there are others and they are multiplying like... well, like the cute little furry fellows they are.
Groundhogs at Hog Haven - Visit Duke and Duchess, two groundhogs who live near Lums Pond State Park in Delaware. Download a screen saver, send unique postcards, watch the hoggie hoedown and learn about the rescue mission at Hog Haven.
Groundhog Day History from Stormfax - Here's the history of Groundhog day from Candlemas to the movie, plus the complete record of when Phil did and did not see his shadow.
Send FREE Groundhog Day Cards - Share your enjoyment of Groundhog Day with free e-cards from 123Greetings.com.
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First Published: January 31, 1999 as part of A Positive Light
Last Updated: April 6, 2008
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