Groundhog Day 2019: When is Groundhog day - what is it?
GROUNDHOG Day is a term often associated with doing things over and over again or living the same day repetitively. But there is another American meaning behind the day.
Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter
Groundhog Day is not regarded as a public holiday, as this year it will fall today, Saturday, February 2. Most businesses, including banks, are still open as usual. But the day is still a big part of popular culture in the USA.
What is Groundhog day?
Groundhog Day focuses on the idea of a groundhog rodent poking its head out of its home in an attempt to predict the weather.
The official groundhog is called Punxsutawney Phil, who lives at Gobbler’s Knob near Punxsutawney, in Pennsylvania.
Thousands of people visit the area every year, as activities are usually held there.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts the main Groundhog Day event in the town.
Members of the club, along with news reporters and local people gather at Gobbler’s Knob on February 2 each year.
Pennsylvania’s governor sometimes attends Groundhog Day ceremonies as well.
They all wait for Phil to appear and make his weather prediction.
A lot of weather researchers have questioned whether the groundhogs can actually predict the weather.
But this cynicism does not deter most of the groundhog’s fans.
Some other states have their own groundhogs instead of Phil.
Traffic also tends to be heavy in parks and streets around the USA, which are used for Groundhog Day events.
When did the tradition begin?
The tradition started in Germany, as people used to believe badgers could predict when spring was coming.
After German people settled in Pennsylvania, they realised there weren’t many badgers to help keep us this tradition.
As a result, they focused their attention on groundhogs, as there was a belief if they see its shadow on February 2, it will be scared by it and will quickly head back to its burrow.
This means there will be six more weeks of winter, but if it doesn’t see its shadow, then spring will arrive soon.