RadishRose
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- Location
- Connecticut, USA
What is the history of Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day started in 1886, although its roots go back even farther.
It's an offshoot of Candlemas Day, an early Christian holiday that doubled as a weather prediction occasion. An old English rhyme goes
"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright,
Winter will have another bite.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again."
In Germany, they would wake up a badger or hedgehog to see if he saw his shadow. When early Pennsylvania settlers came over, they took the idea and simply replaced the hedgehog with a groundhog.
Flash forward to 1886, and the editor of The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper gives it the official name "Groundhog Day."
A year later and The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was founded and the annual trek to Gobbler's Knob began. With the creation of the club came the rise of Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog being elevated to global celebrity status.
Feb 1, 2013[h=1]Beyond Punxsutawney: Meet the Other Groundhogs[/h]
[h=2]1. The earliest predictor: Shubencadie Sam[/h]By virtue of living east of every other celebrity groundhog in North America, Nova Scotia native Sam, a resident of Shubencadie Provincial Wildlife Park in Canada, takes the prize as the earliest to issue a Groundhog Day prediction regarding whether spring will come early or late.
Click below to read about Staten Island Chuck and the others.
https://www.history.com/news/beyond-punxsutawney-meet-the-other-groundhogs
Groundhog Day started in 1886, although its roots go back even farther.
It's an offshoot of Candlemas Day, an early Christian holiday that doubled as a weather prediction occasion. An old English rhyme goes
"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright,
Winter will have another bite.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again."
In Germany, they would wake up a badger or hedgehog to see if he saw his shadow. When early Pennsylvania settlers came over, they took the idea and simply replaced the hedgehog with a groundhog.
Flash forward to 1886, and the editor of The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper gives it the official name "Groundhog Day."
A year later and The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was founded and the annual trek to Gobbler's Knob began. With the creation of the club came the rise of Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog being elevated to global celebrity status.
Feb 1, 2013[h=1]Beyond Punxsutawney: Meet the Other Groundhogs[/h]
[h=2]1. The earliest predictor: Shubencadie Sam[/h]By virtue of living east of every other celebrity groundhog in North America, Nova Scotia native Sam, a resident of Shubencadie Provincial Wildlife Park in Canada, takes the prize as the earliest to issue a Groundhog Day prediction regarding whether spring will come early or late.
Click below to read about Staten Island Chuck and the others.
https://www.history.com/news/beyond-punxsutawney-meet-the-other-groundhogs