Groundhog Day

For the film, see Groundhog Day (film). For other uses, see Groundhog Day (disambiguation).

Groundhog Day
alt=Two smiling men dressed in formal attire stand beside each other. Other people and bare trees are visible in the background. The man on the left holds a groundhog in his arms. The man on the right, wearing an earpiece, holds forward an open scroll, which reads in small text: "HEAR YE, HEAR YE, HEAR YE. TODAY, 2-2-22, WELCOME TO PUNXSUTAWNEY TO CELEBRATE GROUNDHOG DAY, THE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SIXTH ANNUAL TREK OF THE PUNXSUTAWNEY GROUNDHOG CLUB. PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL, THE SEER OF SEERS, THE PROGNOSTICATOR OF ALL PROGNOSTICATORS, WAS GENTLY LIFTED FROM HIS BURROW AT 7:25 AM, AND HELD HIGH TO SEE. HIS FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS HAD RETURNED WITH GLEE! PLACING PHIL ON TOP OF THE STUMP, WHERE IN GROUNDHOGESE, HE DIRECTED THE PRESIDENT, JEFF LUNDY, AND THE INNER CIRCLE TO HIS PREDICTION SCROLL THAT READS: WINTER HAS BEEN BLEAK AND DARK AND BEREFT OF HOPE. YET WINTER IS JUST ANOTHER STEP IN THE CYCLE OF LIFE. AS I LOOK OUT OVER THE FACES OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, I BASK IN THE WARMTH OF YOUR HEARTS. I COULDN'T IMAGINE A BETTER FATE, WITH MY SHADOW I HAVE CAST, THAN A LONG AND LUSTROUS SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER."
2022 celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, US
Observed by
TypeCultural
SignificancePredicts the arrival of spring
CelebrationsAnnouncing whether a groundhog sees its shadow after it emerges from its burrow
DateFebruary 2
FrequencyAnnual
Related toCandlemas

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund'sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day)[1][2][3] is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. In 2024, an early spring was predicted.[4]

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.[5] The weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: Dachs) is the forecasting animal, while in Hungary for example the bear serves the same purpose,[6] and badgers were only watched when bears were not around.[7] It is related to the lore that clear weather on the Christian festival of Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter.

The Groundhog Day ceremony held at Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania, centering on a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, has become the most frequently attended ceremony. Grundsow Lodges in Pennsylvania Dutch Country in the southeastern part of the state observe the occasion as well. Other cities in the United States and Canada also have adopted the event.

  1. ^ Poteet, Lewis J. (2008) [1975], The South Shore Phrase Book, Hantsport: Methuen, ISBN 9780595311941
  2. ^ Chambers, Jack (2004) [1988], Canadian English: Origins and Structures (New, revised, and expanded ed.), Hantsport: Lancelot Press, ISBN 9780595311941, archived from the original on August 2, 2020, retrieved December 26, 2017
  3. ^ Wilson, Harry (1959). The dialect of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia: a study of the English of the county, with reference to its sources, preservation of relics, and vestiges of bilingualism (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. p. 52. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "Did the groundhog see his shadow? See results of Punxsutawney Phil's 2024 winter forecast". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Lewis, Tanya (February 2, 2017). "Groundhog Day: How Often Does Punxsutawney Phil Get It Right?". Live Science. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Nemzet, Magyar (January 28, 2024). "Hogy mikor jön a tavasz, napokon belül kiderül". Hogy mikor jön a tavasz, napokon belül kiderül (in Hungarian). Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  7. ^ "Márkó | Schwaben.hu". schwaben.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved April 28, 2024.