Groundhog Day

Happy, um, Groundhog Day to those of you who keep track of this kind of thing. As a native Pennsylvanian, I have always been well aware of Punxsutawney Phil's appearance each Feb. 2nd. The tradition of Groundhog Day has been in place for 118 years, and has its origins in Candlemas ("For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."). This tradition is celebrated elsewhere in the world, though the "official" Groundhog Day has taken place in Punxsutawney, PA for quite some time.

While a large crowd waits with great expectation, a groundhog (who actually resides elsewhere - last I knew, it was the public library in town) is roused from a burrow on Gobbler's Knob. Men in top hats and tails then speak with the groundhog to find out whether or not he has seen his shadow... which predicts six more weeks of winter weather, or an earlier spring.

I went to school in western Pennsylvania in a town called Indiana about 25 miles from Punxsutawney, but only made it to the ritual once. A group of friends from one of the dorms at IUP thought it would be another excuse to imbibe in Punxsutawney Phil's honor. They were sorely disappointed to learn that alcohol was not allowed past the shuttle bus that brought us to Gobbler's Knob early in the evening before February 2nd. Nevertheless, we spent a (relatively) fun night drinking hot chocolate, chatting it up, and trying desperately to keep warm at the site. Punxsutawney Phil's dramatic proclamation of more winter weather at around 7:30 am was a bit anticlimatic, but I suppose at that point we were all exhausted and/or hung over from the previous evening's festivities.

We rushed back to Indiana immediately afterward, though I still missed my German test. Maybe, just maybe, if I had decided to skip this western Pennsylvania rite of passage, I would have done better in the class (somehow I doubt it, but it was a nice thought, anyway).