Groundhog day is an American and Canadian tradition, although it has European origins. On February 2, farmers use a groundhog's behavior to foresee if winter is going to end or not.
Pennsylvania Germans started this tradition, which was at first a German costume, where they used a badger instead of a groundhog. There are also similarities with Celtic ancient festivities.
On Groundhog day, a groundhog wakes up and comes out of its burrow. If it's cloudy, the groundhog will stay out, and that means that winter is about to end. If it's sunny, the groundhog goes back inside, theorically because it sees its shadow, and winter will last another six weeks. Many towns in the USA and Canada celebrate festivals around this event, with food, music and speeches. The largest one is held in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania, with the groundhog called Phil. The film "Groundhog Day" made this festival particularly famous.
Groundhog Day is an important tradition in a huge part of North America, and even if it's quite unknown here, it's always interesting to check how other cultures have fun superstitions as well. So, if you enjoy beer, German dialects and groundhogs, you should visit one of these towns on February 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment