The Original Groundhog Day Involved Eating the Groundhog When Punxsutawneyans gathered on a hilltop known as Gobbler’s Knob on this day, Feb. 2, in 1887, they did so not just to celebrate When the familiar groundhog used by the townspeople to forecast the weather every February 2, later to be known as “Punxsutawney Phil,” popped his head out of the ground, the hunt leader The scene at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on Groundhog Day, 1973. “They’re sitting [in the trap] eating apples—we put food in there for them. They don’t suffer and They began using groundhogs (also known as woodchucks) because they were local to the area. Punxsutawney Phil . In the 1880s, Clymer H. Freas, the editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper, had the idea to make Groundhog Day a formal holiday, and naming Punxsutawney Phil as the official weather-predicting groundhog. See how the groundhog became a symbol for predicting seasonal changes in America, rooted in German folklore with a badger — which in turn lead to Groundhog Day. Right after the first few annual Groundhog Days, the people of Punxatawney Pennsylvania did something that might be considered unexpected. They started to consider groundhogs as game and annually hunted for groundhogs to eat. The people who hunted groundhogs used to have an annual feast that took place in a lodge for a banquet. Groundhogs were plentiful in the region, and settlers quickly discovered they were edible. One town in Pennsylvania began cooking and serving groundhog specifically as a local delicacy, which Every year on February 2, crowds gather at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to watch a groundhog emerge for the day—just like in the classic Bill Murray film Groundhog Day. You Groundhogs, also called woodchucks and whose scientific name is Marmota monax, typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years.They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they’re When German immigrants settled Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought the custom with them, choosing the native groundhog as the annual forecaster. First Groundhog Day This Day The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The annual ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions and was brought to the U.S. by Groundhog Day began as a tiny event and has grown into an American holiday we can all be proud of. Its furry, buck-toothed star, Punxsutawney Phil, has visited the White House and even met Oprah. 3 of 15 | . FILE - The groundhog saw his shadow, Feb. 2, 1954, as the sun peeked through an overcast sky at Washington Park Zoo in Milwaukee, Wis. The arrival of annual Groundhog Day celebrations Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, will draw thousands of people to see celebrity woodchuck Phil at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. — an event that exploded in popularity after the 1993 Bill Murray movie. Foxes are opportunistic hunters, meaning they will eat almost anything they can catch, so groundhogs are just one item on their menu. Another predator of groundhogs is the coyote. These highly adaptable canines are found all over North America and are known for their ability to hunt various prey, including groundhogs. The Legacy of Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day’s enduring popularity stems from its combination of folklore, community spirit, and humor. It offers a moment of levity in the depths of winter and connects people to nature and the changing seasons. Bill Murray Groundhog Day. The holiday gained additional cultural significance with the 1993 film Originally, Groundhog Day was a Celtic festival marking the year’s first cross-quarter day, or a midpoint between seasons. Read more about the ancient Celtic calendar here. Celebrated at the beginning of February, the day was called Imbolc —a term from Old Irish that is most often translated as “in the belly”—a reference to the soon This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off, waiting to worship a rat. What a hype! Groundhog Day used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out and they used to eat it. You're hypocrites! All of you! You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. What is Groundhog Day? Using animals to predict the weather In the Christian Church, February 2nd it is the celebration of Candlemas, the day that Mary presented her son, Jesus in the Temple. People used to bring the candles to the church for blessing before they would be used for the year, as a reminder that Jesus is the light of the world. Attendance at the town’s annual groundhog event ballooned from 1,000 people to more than 35,000. The film also created a modern idiom—the repetition of a monotonous or unpleasant situation is said to be experiencing a Groundhog Day—even though repetition has nothing to do with the tradition of Groundhog Day other than its annual observance. As the myth of Groundhog Day goes, if a groundhog sees its shadow on February 2, winter will last another six weeks. And while Punxsutawney Phil’s handlers maintain 100 percent accuracy in his
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