The Fate of the Season
February 28, 2022
You wake up, it’s February 2nd at 7:30 a.m. Just looking out the window gives you a cold feeling. You’re staring at the TV waiting to see the fate of the season. Punxsutawney Phil comes out in the brisk Pennsylvania winter, people across the country waiting in suspense. They take Phil away and announce 6 more weeks of winter.
The tradition called Groundhogs day began on February 2nd, 1887 when Punxsutawney Phil beared the bad news of 6 more weeks of winter for the very first time. Groundhog’s day comes from the Christian tradition called Candlemas. Candlemas was when clergy spread blessed candles around for winter. The candles would tell them how long winter would be and how harsh the conditions would be. In Germany the hedgehog predicts the weather. When the Germans came to America they continued the tradition but switched from a hedgehog to a groundhog. Groundhogs day takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania at around 7:30 a.m.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are about 25 inches long and can weigh around 12-15 pounds. Normal groundhogs can live for 6-8 years while the legend says that Punxsutawney Phil lived for 125 years due to the magical punch he drinks every summer. Phil has seen his shadow 108 times and he didn’t see his shadow 20 times. There are only 10 times with no record of what happened. From all of his predictions Phil is right only 39% of the time. So you could have better odds at predicting the weather by flipping a coin than Phil predicting the weather.
Groundhog’s day has been going on for about 135 years now, in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, where the Germans began the tradition. Even though Groundhogs day seems like a simple holiday, if he sees his shadow more winter or if he doesn’t see his shadow spring is coming, but there are so many cool facts and background information that make groundhogs day very fun and unique. In 2022 Punxsutawney Phil declared 6 more weeks of winter.
https://www.livescience.com/32974-punxsutawney-phil-weather-prediction-accuracy.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-groundhog-day
https://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts
