One of America's strangest holidays has its roots in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Originally celebrated in the 1880s, and gaining worldwide popularity in 1993 with the release of the Bill Murray flick, Groundhog Day serves as the symbolic light at the end of the tunnel of each long winter.
Though this year's "winter" has been little more than a few chilly days and some snow in between bouts of spring-like weather, Punxsutawney Phil has still poked his head out of the ground today to predict how long it will be until spring. Here are some unusual facts about Groundhog Day...
1. Groundhog Day began as a Pennsylvania Dutch holiday derived from the German "Candlemas," a celebration of the point midway between winter solstice and spring equinox. If the sun came out, there would be six more weeks of winter.
2. The Groundhog Club is an organization in Punxsutawney that facilitate's Phil's predictions each year. They claim that a secret elixir of life has kept the same groundhog alive for generations, and that his prediction rate is 100% accurate.
3. Here's what Punxsutawney Phil doesn't want you to know: his predictions are accurate only about 30-40% of the time.
4. Nevertheless, the groundhog's full and official name is "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.''
5. Until Punxsutawney Phil gained such notoriety, eating groundhog meat was a big part of the celebration each year... Along with "groundhog punch," which was made out of vodka, milk, eggs, and orange juice.
6. In 1986, the president of the Groundhog Club presented President Ronald Reagan with a framed picture of Punxsutawney Phil, that was also "signed" by the rodent.
7. Though the legend claims that Phil emerges from his den in order to predict the weather, science tells us that at this time of year, groundhogs emerge from their dens in search of a mate.
8. In 2010, PETA suggested that the Groundhog Day celebration replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic groundhog. Um, as if.
9. Since the 1993 film "Groundhog Day" was released, the holiday has skyrocketed in popularity and some years, as many as 40,000 spectators have shown up.
10. Though Groundhog Day originated in Punxsutawney, and Phil is the most famous groundhog, various cities throughout the U.S. and Canada have their own beloved groundhogs for the event.
Have you ever celebrated in Punxsutawney? Know any other weird things about Groundhog Day? Share below.
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