Groundhog Day

February 2nd. A day that is anticipated across the nation by everyone who has shovelled enough snow for the year and believes they are ready to start pushing a lawn mower instead.

Better known as Groundhog Day, the 33rd day of the year is a day when a rodent is bestowed with the powers of prediction and looked to for meteorological guidance. Tradition has it that if the groundhog sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter are in store. Which is why everyone, whether they have any faith in rodent-dependent weather forecasts or not, hopes for cloudy conditions.

But how did all this start? Why a groundhog, as opposed to... let's say, a badger or a bear?

The fact is that badgers and bears were the original wardens of seasonal shift-prediction. Long, long ago, in a country far away--Germany, to be precise--badgers or bears had the honour of letting people know if they were going to enjoy an early spring or a prolonged winter. When German immigrants in Pennsylvania formalized the tradition in the late 19th century, they decided to utilize the smaller and more sedate groundhog for the occasion. They are, after all, relatively easier to catch.

They named their chosen groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and the original celebrations involved dining on a variety of groundhog dishes. Phil himself, however, remained uncooked and uneaten.

For many years, people believed that Punxsutawney Phil was immortal. We suspect that this was a ruse on the part of Phil's handlers and that he was secretly replaced by a new Phil when his time was up. Groundhogs live about six years, so it seems logical to assume some ritualistic choosing occurs. Like electing a new Pope, or the ascension of the Dalai Lama. But who knows? They could just go out and pluck a new groundhog out of the field when the old one dies.

Canada, of course, wanted to get in on the action. In 1956 Wiarton Willie became the official groundhog in the Great White North. Since then, he (or they, depending on your mystical leanings) has had much the same rate of success at predicting the end of winter as Punxsutawney Phil--about 39%. Tossing a coin has a better chance than random rodents who just happen to emerge from their dens at a specific time on a specific day.

Rooted in the Christian holiday of Candlemas, and possibly the earlier Pagan tradition of Imbolc, the tradition endures. But what better excuse could there be for us to don our parkas, lace up our boots and fill our thermoses with hot buttered rum than watching a completely oblivious groundhog poke its nose out of a hole in the ground? The poor thing is probably just wondering why everyone is looking at him, annoyed at having been disturbed.