No Matter How Long The Winter Spring Is Sure To Follow
HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!
Groundhog Day (Canadian
French: Jour de la Marmotte; Pennsylvania
German: Grundsaudaag, Murmeltiertag) is a traditional holiday celebrated
on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when
a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come
early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and
retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for
six more weeks.
Modern customs of the holiday involve
celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch
the groundhog emerging from its burrow.
In
southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate
the holiday with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served,
speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are
performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only
language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a
penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime, or quarter per
word spoken, with the money put into a bowl in the center of the table.
Groundhog
Day was adopted in the U.S. in 1887. Clymer H. Freas was the editor of
the local paper Punxsutawney Spirit at the time, and he began promoting
the town’s groundhog as the official “Groundhog Day meteorologist.”
The
largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania, with Punxsutawney Phil. Groundhog Day, already a widely
recognized and popular tradition,received widespread attention as a
result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day.
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