Happy Groundhog Day!

[billmcd]

Hello.

I just want to congratulate everybody with the Groundhog Day and may spring will come early this year!


By the way, it would be interesting for me to hear if you celebrate this holiday and if so, how do you do it?

Having you saying that, I would really appreciate if you would say a few words about yourself and where you come from.

Regards, Alex.

Even though I am a resident of Pennsylvania, I should say that the event (not considered a holiday) is receiving less and less attention as the years pass. And except in Punxatawny, Pennsylvania, it has become more an observation than a celebration. Sorry if I burst your bubble, AlexAD.

[shannico]

This holiday seems fun to me.
If I am ever in Pennsylvania, I will definitely join the celebrating crowd.

My personal opinion is that the more holidays we have the better.
A holiday is not necessary a day off from work.
And celebration may be just thinking of something which will make you smile.

It have definitely made me smiling for some time. It have made me remember this funny movie and this cute groundhog.
It have made my day a little.

P.S. I wasn't expecting there would be no people celebrating this holiday on this forum. What can I say? Pity.

Regards, Alex.

I had never heard of it till you started this thread.
Nor had I ever heard of the film.
So thanks Alex!!!
All the best
Shan
p.s. I'll check out the film.

[SoothingDave]

It's about an hour and a half from my home. And while I have driven through Punxsutawney before, I have not gone for the big event. Next year it is on a Saturday and I was thinking about taking my daughter up to see it.

Of course, this will depend on the weather. The big event is at 7 AM, so you have to get up pretty early in the morning if you plan on going.

There is a tradition in the Western world, from Germany originally, of an animal predicting the weather based on the sun being out on Feb. 2 (Candlemas on the Church calendar). Germans used badgers. The Pennsylvania Dutch had no badgers, so they turned to the groundhog.

It is a way to mark the halfway point of winter (more or less) and hope for better weather to come. People may make note of the prediction as a news item on that day, but it is quickly forgotten.

[SoothingDave]

I had never heard of it till you started this thread.
Nor had I ever heard of the film.
So thanks Alex!!!
All the best
Shan
p.s. I'll check out the film.

A Movie for All Time - Jonah Goldberg - National Review Online

You may find this commentary on the movie (and how others have found meaning in it) interesting.

[Barb_D]

Side note about the Pennsylvania Dutch - it's from Deutsch, since many Germans settled in the middle and western part of Pennsylvania. It evolved to Dutch, even to the point of one place in the middle of "Pennsylvania Dutch country" having a big windmill. Another interesting side note: The Amish, having descended form some of these early settlers, call us (their surrounding neighbors) "English."