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The 1993 film Groundhog Day features egotistical weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, reliving the same day over and over. While the movie is beloved as a comedy, many religious scholars consider it an “underground Buddhist classic” for its depiction of the cycle of death and rebirth. “Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal–the hedgehog–as a means of predicting weather. Author and Hamilton College religion professor Brent Rodriguez-Plate, who has often taught “Groundhog Day” in classes about religion and film, said removing explicitly religious elements from Today the largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where as many as 40,000 people gather to see the groundhog. Subscribe Now - Catholic Online YouTube 'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education' The History of Groundhog Day The Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day has become most commonly associated with the current celebration, but it’s roots are older than that. The celebration started in Christianity as the day, (February 2nd), when Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. Today Groundhog Day takes its place as a growing phenomenon in the United States complete with school observances, greeting cards, trinkets and paraphernalia for purchase, and even a federally-sanctioned “official” groundhog in Pennsylvania. The holiday was also commemorated in a popular Hollywood movie of the early 1990s. The observance of Groundhog Day in the United States first occurred in German communities in Pennsylvania, according to known records. The earliest mention of Groundhog Day is an entry on February 2, 1840, in the diary of James L. Morris of Morgantown, in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, according to the book on the subject by Don Yoder. This was a Read on to learn about the history and origins of Groundhog day, the day's Christian roots, and how it came to be the holiday it is today. Maggie Phillips covers religious communities across 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 A few years later, in 2001, Groundhog Day was screened as part of a Buddhist film series organized by Michael Wenger, a Sōtō Zen priest who was then the dean of Buddhist studies at the San Francisco Zen Center. In a subsequent lecture, Wenger argued that Groundhog Day not only illustrates the law of karma, but also “parallels Buddhist 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. Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis from a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin.Starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott, it tells the story of a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2 repeatedly. On Feb. 2, while many Americans “celebrate” Groundhog Day, most of them will most-likely being doing so without recognizing the (somewhat loose) connection that the holiday has with Christianity. Groundhog Day, in the United States and Canada, day (February 2) on which the emergence of the groundhog from its burrow is said to foretell the weather for the following six weeks. In the United States the most popular event occurs in Pennsylvania and centers on a groundhog designated Punxsutawney Phil. Groundhog day with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell is on many peoples Top 10 favorite movies of all time. But who knew that the movie has deep philosophical and Christian themes – in fact, it is a very Catholic. The Theology of Groundhog Day The movie stars Bill Murray as Phil–a weatherman who finds himself re-living a single day of his life–Groundhog Day. If you haven’t seen the movie Groundhog Day originated from an ancient European tradition called Candlemas Day, where clergy would bless candles and distribute them to ward off the darkness of winter. The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The 1993 movie Groundhog Day directed by Harold Ramis portrays the journey of self-centered weatherman Phil Connors who becomes trapped in a time loop and must repeatedly relive the same day. Connors’ ordeal highlights the Buddhist principle that life is dominated by hardship. In Groundhog Day, the sarcastic Phil Connors repeatedly wakes the same day. Phil, a groundhog, and the weatherman’s namesake sees the man’s shadow, and scurries back into his burrow, implying The origin of Groundhog Day in America traces to the fervent religious beliefs of German-speaking immigrants in the 1800s. The origin of Groundhog Day in Milltown, New Jersey, traces to a promise Article on Christian, Jewish and Buddhist spiritual aspects of Groundhog Day, 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and directed by Harold Ramis, that is being shown as part of Museum of Modern Art's
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