Scared Of His Own Shadow

Today, February 2, 2014, marks the annual tradition of Groundhog Day, when Punxsutawney Phil, the famed forecasting groundhog, will supposedly indicate whether or not we will receive 6 more weeks of winter. As the tradition states, if Phil emerges from his burrow and sees his shadow, then 6 more weeks of winter are on the way. The most popular Groundhog Day Celebration is found in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The celebration is an offshoot of ancient Germanic folklore, where a badger or sometimes bear would be the forecaster, and the Punxsutawney celebration honors this cultural heritage. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and small payment, usually a nickel or dime, is to be collected for each word spoken in a different language. The earliest recorded mentioning of an American Groundhog Day dates back to February 1841, still in Punxsutawney Phil’s home state of Pennsylvania. The Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania celebration, while the largest with recorded crowds of around 40,000 attendees, is not the only location to have a Groundhog Day celebration. Quarryville, the Anthracite region of Schuylkill County, the Sinnamahoning Valley, and Bucks County (all also in Pennsylvania) also hold their own celebrations. Even the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, celebrates Groundhog Day as an official university holiday, a celebration that is popularly considered to be the second largest in the world. Despite the thousands of onlookers, today Phil confidently stated that he did, in fact, see his shadow, meaning we can look forward to six more weeks of winter.