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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 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. 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 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. 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. The beginning of February, which falls roughly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox , has long been a significant time of the year in many Crowds as large as 30,000 have turned out to Punxsutawney for multi-day Groundhog Day festivities, which the state calls a significant tourism boost for the town of fewer than 6,000 people. German settlers arriving in the U.S. quickly found out there were no badgers in Pennsylvania, so they went with the groundhog instead. The real reason the groundhog comes out on February 2 has An unusual, yet beloved holiday February 2nd is Groundhog Day, the day when a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil predicts whether or not we will have six more weeks of winter. If he sees his shadow, more cold is on the way; if not, warmer weather is coming. While this holiday may seem like a silly tradition, it has a surprisingly deep history. Ancient Traditions Most of us know the tradition: on February 2, our old friend the groundhog will emerge from hibernation, come out of his den, and predict whether winter will deliver more cold weather this year. If the groundhog sees his shadow, the story goes, cold weather will persist another few weeks. If not, warm weather is around the corner. If you like the folklore of holidays, you may be interested to "Groundhog Day is a reminder that even in the midst of the coldest, bleakest times, we can find joy and laughter in the simple things. It‘s a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit." – Dr. Lisa Thompson, psychologist. In many ways, the themes of the "Groundhog Day" movie mirror the enduring appeal of the tradition itself. In reality, groundhogs don’t make the best meteorologists, and poor Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t have a great track record. As of 2022, he’d made the right call just 39% of the time, according There are various reasons why a groundhog may be called a woodchuck. The most common explanation is that the groundhog is a type of woodchuck, a small rodent often found in North America. A Groundhog is a small, furry animal that looks like a mixture of a squirrel and a badger. According to the tradition, each year one of the furry creatures can predict when spring will arrive. Groundhog Day Jokes . Why was the Groundhog afraid of 7? Because 7 eight 9! How do groundhogs smell? With their noses! What do French groundhogs see on February 2nd? Their chateau. What’s the furriest side of a groundhog? The outside. What do you call a groundhog that throws amazing parties? The host with the most-holes! Call it a groundhog, a woodchuck, or any other such name, but it's a marmot and they are found in most states. One item that is not true in the write-up is that marmots do not climb trees. Marmots in the wild are pretty lazy. There, they wait for groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to come out of hibernation. Following the popularity of the 1993 Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day," the event increased in popularity To provide a smidge more detail, the movie Groundhog Day is about a man reliving the same day over and over and over. Every time he wakes up it's Groundhog Day again, and people always say the same things and do the same things over and over, and he's the only one who is aware of the infinite repetition and who is capable of doing things differently. Groundhog day originally came from an old tradition called Candlemas Day that started in the United States in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. There, they wait for groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to come out of hibernation. Following the popularity of the 1993 Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day," the event increased in popularity While some of them did hail from modern day Germany, some came from the Netherlands and Switzerland. They called themselves deitsch (as in deutsch for German). The gigantic game of telephone called history gives us “dutch” nowadays. The Pennsylvania Dutch brought Badger Day with them–but they ended up changing over to the Groundhog.
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