Well, we made it through January pretty much in one piece — now we need to get through February. Lots of events in February, starting with today — Groundhog Day. This will be our first Groundhog Day of the pandemic. Little did we think last year at this time that Punxsutawney Phil would have to see his shadow virtually in 2021.
February 2 is also Candlemas that commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. The day also marks the ritual presentation of the baby Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. Candlemas was formerly known in the Roman Catholic Church as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary — it is now known as the Presentation of the Lord.
The Dachs were German-speaking immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. They developed their own take on the legend of Candlemas in the 18th and 19th centuries bringing with them the custom of weather forecasting using a Hedgehog…. giving rise to the problem there are no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania — so, they substituted a groundhog. Candlemas was when the clergy blessed and distributed candles needed for winter. The Dachs came up with the idea of selecting an animal to predict how many candles they would need for the winter.
The first ever “Groundhog Day” was created by a local newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, around 1886. He convinced a local groundhog hunter and businessman, and all members of his Punxsutawney Groundhog club, that Groundhog Day was a good idea. Together, they all made their way to Gobbler’s Knob where the groundhog would make the final decision on the weather.
February 2 is when we ask are if we are in for six more weeks of winter — of course, only a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil knows the answer. Every year, people flock to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to await Phi;’s forecast. But — the coronavirus has forced us to change the way we celebrate holidays and Groundhog Day is no exception.
Punxsutawney Phil will still make an appearance this year, but it will be virtual. There will not be any in-person attendance or guests on the grounds because the potential COVID risks are too great.
Just about all our Christmas decorations have been taken down — that may be good luck or bad luck, depending on how you view February 2. One school of thought is that it’s supposed to be bad luck to leave you Christmas decorations up after Groundhog Day. And — there’s another group that says any Christmas decorations not taken down by Twelfth Night (January 5th) should be left up until Candlemas Day and then taken down. So I’m not sure where we fit into this — but no matter, today is Phil’s day… even though he’s like most other prophets — he delivers his prediction and then disappears. Happy Groundhog Day!
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