Opening my calendar is always an adventure. What holidays will appear this year? We always seem to be celebrating something that doesn’t have a discernible origin or relevance. So be the iconic and highly televised Groundhog Day, that day in February we wait with baited breath to see if a chubby rodent sees his shadow or not.
As a writer and world building apprentice, I find little phenomenons like this interesting. How do you create a believable holiday in a fictional world? How do they come about and affect the thinking of the people? Rather than study the many occasions when a cartoon gives Christmas a fantasy makeover, I think it’d be interesting to dive into the history of Groundhog Day.
Seasons Change
According to the Library of Congress Blogs, February 2nd is a cross-quarter day. Solstices and equinoxes are marked on our calendars, but days such as Halloween and MayDay also have importance in regards to the seasons and how they change. These in between points help with agriculture, letting farmers know when certain seasons are on the way.
The Celts and Irish had varying holidays on February 2nd celebrating the shift in season. History.com describes Imbolc as a European spring festival on this day. However, the spread of Christianity saw the pagan festival change to Candlemas, a ceremony regarding the presentation of Jesus. While various meanings and roots were added to these days, a significant element was the changing of seasons.
Where’s the Groundhog?
Like everyone else, Germans had a unique tradition for February 2nd. Beginning of February, they would watch badgers to see if they’d go back to hibernation or stay outside. That’s actually where the concept of groundhogs predicting the weather came from: their hibernation pattern. According to Penn State, groundhogs hibernate between early November and late February, the approximate length of the winter season. Badgers are fairly similar.
When German immigrants came to the US, their traditions didn’t change. Come February, they went looking for a small creature like a badger in order to figure out the coming of spring. Groundhogs were the closest relative, and so Groundhog Day came to America. Though, there are a few more steps before this event becomes a commercialized celebration.
Tradition to National Holiday
The first Groundhog Day celebration was held in Punxsutawney, Pennslyvania. And if you look up their website, you’ll be immersed in groundhogs. With so many Germans stating the same belief of groundhogs and weather, a local reporter decided it’d be worthwhile to make an event of the myth. This yearly festival still occurs in Pennsylvania with Pennsylvania Dutch and German descendants coming together to recognize their heritage and traditions.
With the first festival in 1887 and the movie coming out in 1993, the bus started rolling. Now US residents celebrate groundhog day in various fashions, be it attending an event or cooking groundhog. Don’t ask me about that last one; apparently the Library of Congress has several recipe options. Either way, a German superstition now sits on the calendar as another holiday meant to be celebrated.
Happy Groundhog Day
I don’t celebrate. That’s part of why I wanted to write this post and do a little research, to figure out why this holiday exists. With my minor findings, I’m thinking the tradition has more to do with heritage than a rodent. Many believe the holiday started with the influx of German immigrants between 1727 and 1775. People from another nation landed on foreign shores, finding nothing but uncertainty and mystery.
Then comes the groundhog on February 2nd. Something they recognize exists in this new world. And so they celebrate in a way that relates to their upbringing. Festivals are hosted, feasts prepared. All with a tinge of German and Dutch. Kind of incredible to think about.