By Maire Crooks, Co-Editor-in-Chief
In America, February 2nd is a widely anticipated holiday: Groundhog Day. Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil, the face of the celebration, emerges to check for his shadow to predict the upcoming spring season. This year, he did not see said shadow, meaning an early spring, much to River Hill students’ excitement.
Punxsutawney Phil is not the only future-predictor who is honored on this day. New York’s Chuck, Woodstock Willie from Illinois, Georgia’s General Beauregard Lee and even an Alabama possum named Sand Mountain Sam all predicted an early spring as well.
As for River Hill, many students were unfamiliar with the niche holiday. However, once informed, they were all extremely excited to hear the news of (hopefully) warmer weather soon. Junior Alice Chen had not heard of Groundhog Day but felt “great” at Phil’s promising prediction. “I love spring; winter sucks and is too cold.”
Others, however, were up to date on the celebrations but had mixed feelings about his prediction. Aubrey Heiges, a River Hill senior, articulates, “[I am] sad because I like winter, but also I feel like he may be right based on the current weather.”
Sierra Collis, another senior, on the other hand, is looking forward to a change in season. “I really hope that Punxsutawney Phil is right about an early spring. I feel like it is a bit odd to believe that a groundhog not seeing his shadow will result in an early spring but I am very hopeful,” she says.
Of those who were aware of the significance of February 2nd, most had not heard of the history that led to the large celebrations held in Phil’s home: Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania.
In reference to both the history and groundhog coverage in general, Aubrey elaborates, “I feel like I barely heard about it this year. I think we should give it more media coverage in the days leading up to it so there’s more hype.”
The holiday was originally celebrated in Europe where Christians held a feast called Candlemas that commemorated Jesus being presented at the temple in Jerusalem. Some of these celebrants thought that a sunny Candlemas meant another 40 days of winter.
The Germans then adopted a similar tradition involving a badger, which was brought over to the United States when they settled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania at a site called Gobbler’s Knob.
Nowadays, there is a Punxsutawney Groundhog Club that hosts a variety of events leading up to the big day. The festivities begin on the preceding Thursday afternoon with a “Gobbler’s Knob Got Talent” show with a $500 prize. The show is followed by an exclusive reception for members of the club, and then the “Annual Groundhog Banquet” open to ticket holders. According to the club, “This event features a catered dinner, guest speakers, Man and Woman of the Year announcement, a gift, and so much more.”
Of course, the night would not be complete without the 21+ “Dueling Pianos” event that takes the party until midnight. A quick turnaround is needed for those planning to sleep because at 3:00 a.m. on February 2nd, the gates to the Grounds open to get a prime viewing spot to see the legendary Punxsutawney Phil. Naturally, the weekend’s celebrations are topped off with a lunch with Phil and the Groundhog Ball later that evening.
Sierra mentions, “I would love to go to Gobblers Knob at some point in my life to witness the groundhog because it seems like such a fun event.”
Despite the tantalizing festivities and enticing hope of spring arriving, students largely do not trust the groundhogs’ predictions, believing that he does not have any real merit. Since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has only been right 39% of the time.
“It is an animal that doesn’t even know what is going on, so I don’t think it is a reliable source,” explains Alice.
Sierra agrees, adding that “ the years when he is right is just by chance. The groundhog uses no scientific processes to determine his prediction so it seems illogical to believe that he can genuinely predict the length of winter.”
Will his 2024 prediction turn out to be true? Only time will tell.