Just a quick note that our resident groundhog has agreed with our cousin Punxsutawney Phil that we’ll have an early spring!
Groundhog Day seems to have a bizarre history, evolving over centuries as it was observed by different groups, from the Celts to Germans to the Pennsylvania Dutch to those folks in the rest of the U.S. While early celebrations claim it all started in 1887 in Punxsutawney, a local historian Dan Yoder, found evidence of townspeople trusting a groundhog for weather advice as early as 1840.
According to Yoder, in 1887 local folks had a “Groundhog Picnic,” where groundhogs were cooked up as a “special local dish,” served at the Punxsutawney Elk Lodge. I guess once “Phil” became famous, with visits to the White House, the “Today” show and Oprah, folks decided it wasn’t appropriate to serve him up at picnics!
If you’d like to know more about Groundhog Day, just type “History of Groundhog Day” into your search engine and learn more than you ever wanted to know! Just typing this brief summary, I may eventually learn how to spell Punxsutawney! Happy Groundhog Day! Enjoy!