So it has been a VERY long time since I have written on this wonderful blog of mine and I know my one and only follower has been waiting for this day….
Today is February 3, 2011, not a very special day but yesterday is what I am going to talk about. Yesterday was the day of the groundhog. Yes, yesterday is when everyone sits on the edges of their seat and await Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction. If you don’t know already he did not see his shadow so supposedly there is going to be an early spring but we shall see if that happens. Groundhog day actually comes from the German culture, who would have thought that right!? Well they had a tradition that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the hedgehog or badger will see its shadow and there will be six more weeks of winter. Some of these Germans came to America and settled in Pennsylvania and continued this tradition. The first official Groundhog Day was February 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, PA. Little did we know this would continue for centuries. Now this day is a spectacle, there are celebrations, entertainment, and lots of people. I don’t know why people would want to travel from miles and miles away just to wait for a groundhog to come out and see his shadow or not see his shadow. How do you even know that it is the real Punxsutawney Phil? I have researched this exact question and I bet you didn’t expect this; Phil actually lives in a climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library. He is taken to Gobbler's Knob and placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on stage before being pulled out at 7:25 am on Groundhog Day, February 2, to make his prediction. I KNOW! This groundhog is like a zoo animal and is probably trained by his owners, they probably tell him when and when not to see his shadow. Now that I know this information, I cannot believe that Groundhog Day is really official it is just another normal day out of the year. I will never believe one of Phil’s predictions again because he is being coerced into seeing or not seeing his shadow. This may seem extreme, “being coerced or forced” to see his shadow but you just never know. I hope that I have informed you enough about this day of the groundhog and how it really isn’t a day at all…
P.S. Even though Phil isn’t that great the town of Punxsutawney is pretty cool, even if there are statues of Phil everywhere. If you are driving through one time, stop check it out, they have some really awesome ice cream :)
-The Queen of Random (Danielle)
