Don’t Think Twice…Groundhog Day was Celebrated This Week

(Newswire.net — February 2, 2016) Richland Hills, Texas — Groundhog Day, as we know it was actually based on the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, a day when local clergy would first bless and then distribute candles for the populace to use for winter.  These candles were thought to be a representation of just how long and cold the remainder of that particular winter was going to be.

It was later on that individuals in Germany altered the tradition by choosing to use the hedgehog as a method for predicting the winter weather.   It was a group of Germans then, in 1887, who were members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, located in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who declared Phil, a local groundhog, to be America’s one and only weather forecasting groundhog.

The members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club were actually a group of groundhog hunters, who enjoyed the taste of the white meat that groundhogs do provide once cooked.  These days, Punxsutawney Phil does not have to concern himself with ending up on someone’s plate to be eaten.  

Instead, he keeps those in attendance, who have driven from miles around, on the edge of their seats as they wait for him to emerge from his burrow to see if Phil sees his shadow, meaning there will be six more weeks of spring, or no shadow, which means that there will indeed be an early spring for all to enjoy.

The average groundhog weighs between 12 and 15 pounds and has a life expectancy of between six to eight years.  Groundhogs go into hibernation in the late fall and in February male groundhogs emerge from their burrows in search of female groundhogs to mate with (sorry, they do not really emerge to predict the weather).

Once male groundhogs mate, they return to their burrows for a few more weeks of hibernation, only to come out for good sometime in March.