Groundhog Day

For the movie of the same name, see Groundhog Day (film)

Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day 2005 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Observed by	United States and Canada
Type	Cultural
Significance	Whether the groundhog sees its shadow determines how much longer winter will last.
Celebrations	Observing a groundhog emerging from its burrow and seeing whether it sees its shadow
Date	February 2nd

Groundhog Day or Groundhog's Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot, or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks.

History

Historical origins

The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels.

Perhaps the earliest known American reference to Groundhog Day can be found at the Historical Society of Berks County in Reading, Pennsylvania. The reference was made February 4, 1841 in Morgantown, Berks County, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris' diary: "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 weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

It has been claimed that this has been a widely celebrated event in Middlesbrough, England since the turn of the millennium and continues to grow within the surrounding area. This however seems rather unlikely given that groundhogs are limited to North America.

In the United States the tradition derives from a Scottish poem:

As the light grows longer

The cold grows stronger

If Candlemas be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If Candlemas be cloud and snow

Winter will be gone and not come again

A farmer should on Candlemas day

Have half his corn and half his hay

On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop

You can be sure of a good pea crop

This tradition also stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and Groundhog Day. Candlemas, also known as the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation, coincides with the earlier pagan observance Imbolc.

Alternative origin theories

In western countries in the Northern Hemisphere the official first day of Spring is about six weeks after Groundhog Day, on March 20 or March 21. About 1,000 years ago, before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar when the date of the equinox drifted in the Julian calendar, the spring equinox fell on March 16 instead. This was exactly six weeks after February 2. Assuming that the equinox marked the first day of spring in certain medieval cultures, as it does now in western countries, Groundhog Day occurred exactly six weeks before spring. Therefore, if the groundhog saw his shadow on Groundhog Day there would be six more weeks of winter. If he didn't, there would be 42 more days of winter. In other words, the Groundhog Day tradition may have begun as a bit of folk humor.

Alternatively, the custom could have been a folk embodiment of the confusion created by the collision of two calendrical systems. Some ancient traditions marked the change of season at cross-quarter days such as Imbolc when daylight first makes significant progress against the night. Other traditions held that Spring did not begin until the length of daylight overtook night at the Vernal Equinox. So an arbiter, the groundhog/hedgehog, was incorporated as a yearly custom to settle the two traditions. Sometimes Spring begins at Imbolc, and sometimes Winter lasts 6 more weeks until the equinox.

Famous prognosticators and predictions

As stated earlier, a shadow of Punxsutawney Phil means six more weeks of winter and no shadow means spring is around the corner. Groundhog Day proponents state that the rodents' forecasts are accurate 75% to 90%. A Canadian study for 13 cities in the past 30 to 40 years puts success rate level at 37%. Also, the National Climatic Data Center reportedly has stated that the overall predictions accuracy rate is around 39%.

What follows is a record of the various dates accompanied by several of the most famous marmot predictions.

Date Prediction Groundhog 2008 Early Spring Dunkirk Dave 2008 Early Spring Balzac Billy 2008 Early Spring Jimmy the Groundhog 2008 6 more weeks of winter Sir Walter Wally 2008 Early Spring Wiarton Willie 2008 Early Spring General Beauregard Lee 2008 Early Spring Malverne Mel 2008 6 more weeks of winter West Indies Wilbur 2008 Early Spring Shubenacadie Sam 2008 Early Spring Staten Island Chuck 2008 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2008 Early Spring Buckeye Chuck 2007 6 more weeks of winter Holtsville Hal 2007 6 more weeks of winter Dunkirk Dave 2007 Early Spring Punxsutawney Phil 2007 Early Spring Staten Island Chuck 2007 Early Spring Wiarton Willie 2007 Early Spring Shubenacadie Sam 2007 Early Spring General Beauregard Lee 2007 Early Spring Malverne Melissa 2007 Early Spring Buckeye Chuck 2007 Early Spring Spanish Joe 2007 Early Spring Sir Walter Wally 2006 6 more weeks of winter Dunkirk Dave 2006 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2006 6 more weeks of winter Buckeye Chuck 2006 Early Spring Spanish Joe 2006 Early Spring Wiarton Willie 2006 Early Spring General Beauregard Lee 2006 Early Spring Staten Island Chuck 2006 Early Spring Shubenacadie Sam 2006 Early Spring Jimmy the Groundhog 2006 Early Spring Malverne Mel 2006 Early Spring French Creek Freddie 2005 6 more weeks of winter Dunkirk Dave 2005 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2005 6 more weeks of winter Shubenacadie Sam 2005 6 more weeks of winter Spanish Joe 2005 6 more weeks of winter Octorara Orphie 2005 6 more weeks of winter Malverne Mel 2005 Early Spring Wiarton Willie 2005 Early Spring Jimmy the Groundhog 2005 Early Spring General Beauregard Lee 2005 Early Spring Balzac Billy 2005 Early Spring Staten Island Chuck 2004 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2004 6 more weeks of winter Dunkirk Dave 2004 6 more weeks of winter Wiarton Willie 2004 6 more weeks of winter Spanish Joe 2004 6 more weeks of winter Balzac Billy 2004 6 more weeks of winter General Beauregard Lee 2004 6 more weeks of winter Malverne Mel 2003 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2003 Early Spring Dunkirk Dave 2003 Early Spring Spanish Joe 2002 6 more weeks of winter Dunkirk Dave 2002 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2002 Early Spring Spanish Joe 2001 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2001 Early Spring Dunkirk Dave 2001 Early Spring Spanish Joe 2000 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil 2000 Early Spring Spanish Joe 1999 Early Spring Punxsutawney Phil 1999 Early Spring Spanish Joe

Famous groundhogs Punxsutawney Phil found in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA Wiarton Willie found in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada Staten Island Chuck found in New York City, New York, USA General Beauregard Lee, PhD found in Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dunkirk Dave in Dunkirk, New York, USA Malverne Mel and Malverne Melissa found in Malverne, New York, USA Brandon Bob of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada Balzac Billy of Balzac, Alberta, Canada Shubenacadie Sam of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada Gary the Groundhog of Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada Spanish Joe of Spanish, Ontario, Canada Sir Walter Wally of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Pardon Me Pete of Tampa, Florida, USA Jimmy the Groundhog of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, USA Octoraro Orphie of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, USA Holtsville Hal of Holtsville, New York, USA Buckeye Chuck of Marion, Ohio, USA Note: More profile of many other prognosticating groundhogs are available at about.com.

In fiction

At the end of Disney's 1930 Silly Symphony Winter, a Mr. Groundhog the Weather Prophet comes out of his hole to determine whether or not there will be more winter. At first, he does not see his shadow, but the clouds clear and his shadow appears, causing him to run back inside. At this point, the winds picks up again and winter continues. In the 1979 Rankin-Bass Christmas TV special Jack Frost, a crucial plot point in the story involves Jack casting his own shadow on Groundhog Day for six more weeks of winter. At the end of the story it is revealed that the narrator (voiced by Buddy Hackett) is the groundhog.

The 1993 comedy movie Groundhog Day takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA on this day (although the majority of the movie was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois). The main character (played by Bill Murray) is forced to relive the day over and over again until he can learn to give up his selfishness and become a better person.

Also in the episode "Next Question" of the children's animated show As Told By Ginger Carl and Hoodsey liberate the towns Groundhog so they could sell scarfs remembering their Groundhog, Pete. When the matter is investigated, a monkey, Mr. Licorice, is in the hole and people think that he ate Pete.

On January 9, 2006, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office presented installments of the Groundhog 202 film series, a Groundhog Day promotion that played off The Shining. The film shows what happens when the groundhog, stuck inside for 364 days, goes mad with cabin fever. On January 11, 2007, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office presented installments of the Groundhog Crossing film series, a Groundhog Day promotion that depicted the departure of the Shadow from his friend the Groundhog in an attempt to stop the cycle of winter predictions.

Similar customs

In Germany 27 June is "Siebenschläfertag" (7 Sleepers Day). If it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy. While it might seem to refer to the "Siebenschläfer" squirrel (Glis Glis), also known as the "edible dormouse" it actually commemorates the Seven Sleepers (the actual commemoration day is July 25.)

In the United Kingdom, 15 July is known as St. Swithun's day. It is claimed that at one time it was believed if it rained on that day, it would rain for the next 40 days and nights. However, since the probability of such a protracted period of continual rain is virtually nil it is more likely that the belief was simply that the ensuing summer would be wetter than average

Further reading

• Michael A. Aaron, Brewster B. Boyd, Jr., Melanie J. Curtis, Paul M. Sommers, Punxsutawney's Phenomenal Phorecaster. The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan., 2001), pp. 26-29 doi 10.2307/2687216
• Cohen, H., & Coffin, T. P. (1987). The Folklore of American holidays. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research Co.
• Old, W. C., & Billin-Frye, P. (2004). The Groundhog Day book of facts and fun. Morton Grove, Ill: Albert Whitman & Company.
• Pulling, A. F. (2001). Around Punxsutawney. Images of America. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia.
• Don Yoder, Groundhog Day, Stackpole Books, 2003
• Punxy Phil's Past Predictions: http://www.groundhog.org/about/predictions.php

External links

• History of Groundhog Day
• Groundhog Day History
• Groundhog Day and Gardening A gardener's reflections on Groundhog Day.
• Collection of links to websites about Groundhog Day
• A Collection of Groundhog Crossing Videos Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil crosses America
• Profile of many other prognosticating groundhogs