Today is February 2nd and that means it's Groundhog Day. This is the day where people traditionally throw away any perceived value of technology pertaining to weather prediction. On this day, people around the world put their full faith and trust in the abilities of a weather predicting rodent. (Sarcasm Alert) Who needs satellites, computers and radar when you have a rodent that lives in the dirt and can tell you what you need to know about the weather?
History
Groundhog Day has been celebrated each year since 1887. How did this start? It's one of those situations where everyone has an idea, but nobody knows for certain. A person from Punxsutawney once told me Indians who lived in the area during the 1700s loved to tell settlers the most ridiculous stories. The reason was that settlers would believe just about anything the Indians told them. According to my friend, the Indians made up a story of the groundhog predicting spring. They laughed when the settlers took them serious. If I were an Indian, I would have told them a groundhog seeing its shadow is bad. It means any white people on our land may burst into flames.
Others believe it started as a Pennsylvania Dutch custom. These are people of German heritage. (I know it's confusing, but don't ask.) They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states "For as the sun shines on Candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in May. In Europe, it seems a badger or sacred bear was responsible for weather prediction. I don't know if a groundhog was a step up or step back.
The first person to mention the Groundhog Day celebration in their diary was James Morrison in 1884. He was a storekeeper in Morrison, Pennsylvania. What did his entry say? “Indians keep laughing at us as we celebrate Groundhog Day. Everyone is confused. We just can't find a badger.”
Paunxsutawney Phil
Groundhog Day is now celebrated by a rodent named “Paunxsutawney Phil.” He is named after Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This is the place where the groundhog event takes place every year. This is the town's one big annual celebration. It brings people from around the world to visit. Anyone who has gone to Punxsutawney for the Groundhog Day celebration knows it also includes drinking, cheering and doing things that college students do is these crazy situations.
During the year, the designated groundhog is kept in the temporary groundhog facility known as Gobbler's Knob. This is located approximately 2 miles away from the town of Punxsutawney. Some part of me wonders if the Groundhog secretly spends time looking at weather charts, computer models of the atmosphere and more. There no evidence of this, but you have to wonder.
The Inner Circle
The people responsible for taking care of the designated weather predicting rodent are called the Inner Circle. Sounds like some real secret agent type stuff. If you ever see members of this Inner circle, you'd know that is not likely. On Groundhog Day, people from the Inner Circle bring out the designated Paunxsutawney Phil. They parade this animal past a cheering crowds wearing tuxedos and top hats. The groundhog is then put into a fake tree stump. A door is open and the groundhog emerges. A member from the Inner Circle then announces Paunxsutawney Phil's weather prediction. (Sarcasm Alert) A warning is often given to the crowd. It's intended to remind them what they're seeing is real. There is no need to for them to check the side effects of their medications.
Accuracy Rate
According to the people who organize and promote Groundhog Day, the weather forecasts made by the rodent are 75 to 90 percent accurate. We need to remember these are people who go around one very cold morning of the year holding a groundhog. They do this while wearing a top hat and tuxedo. According to StormFax Weather Almanac, the rodent weather forecasts only have a 39 percent rate of accuracy. I guess accuracy rates change when you hold a groundhog and wear a top hat.
Conclusion
It doesn't really matter how Groundhog Day started. It's here to stay. Our children and grandchildren will know about Paunxsutawney Phil. I understand it's also a time when American Indians in the area celebrate their own tradition. They spend most of the day laughing at people who celebrate a weather predicting groundhog.
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