Groundhog Day
North-American animal predicts weather, and the Ancient Celts
On February 2, will Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most famous groundhog, emerge from his den, sparing the country another 6 weeks of winter?
The weather is a mystery to us, in most parts of the world more so than in others. Sometimes meteorology seems more like guesswork than science. No wonder folks turn to alternative means for climatic prognostication. One such method is asking animals what the near future brings in terms of rain or shine.
This phenomenon of animals predicting the weather was made famous by the hit movie Groundhog Day (1993), starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell. This comedic love story is set in Punxsutawney, a rural town in Pennsylvania, USA. Every year on 2 February, Punxsutawney makes a great hullabaloo around a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil. Around sunrise, officials in top hats, townspeople and tourists gather around Phil’s temporary den, waiting for him to peek out. If Phil sees his shadow and flees back into his den, Northern America will have to endure 6 more weeks of winter weather. If Phil emerges without a care, spring must be around the corner.
This is an ancient tradition. Around the fifth century BC, the astronomically-minded ancient Celts celebrated 2 February because it marks the halfway point in winter: it is Imbolc, the cross-quarter day or day midway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. They believed that if on Imbolc the weather was bad, the second half of winter would be fair, and vice versa. Also, if bears, marmots and groundhogs emerged from hibernation, the second part of winter would be fair. If they remained asleep, it would be inclement.
The Romans adopted 2 February as “Hedgehog Day”. Christianity assimilated it to Candlemas Day, the day when Christ was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem for the first time. An old English song claims:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.
How do the groundhogs and hedgehogs fit in again? The logic is as follows: if 2 February is a fair day, with sunshine, the emerging animal will cast a shadow, and, when he sees it, run back in to continue his hibernation, thus predicting bad weather. And magically, a fair 2 February does, statistically, bring inclement weather in the second half of winter. So it all works out.
This ancient belief was brought into Northern America by German immigrants. There being no hedgehogs, the groundhog – revered by the Native Americans as the wisest animal – would do just fine.
