For the last 150 years, tomorrow (February 2) would be marked Groundhog day. And while the day has nothing to do with living the same day over and over again, like in the Bill Murray movie with the same name, it does have a weird history.
When Europeans first started to emigrate to the US, many would bring their own traditions and customs to celebrate in their new homes. With time, these traditions usually slowly adapted to better suit the US and the things they had available. One of these days was the European Candlemas customs, which now has become more famous as Groundhog Day.
To help people learn more about the American holiday, Randy Wentworth of social media account 'Wentworth Bros' has shared a video where he went on to explain the history of Groundhog Day, and why people travel all over the country to watch a groundhog look at his shadow.
"Groundhog Day is almost here. Every February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil pops up from his burrow," Randy explained at the start of the video. "And if he sees his shadow and retreats, that means six more weeks of winter. But if he doesn't see his shadow, we're getting an early spring."
What is Groundhog day?But how did it all start? Randy explained the tradition dates back to when the Dutch started to migrate to the Pennsylvania area, and they carried over their holiday of Candlemas, also known as Badger day.
Candlemas is a Christian feast marking the presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary, occurring 40 days after Christmas.
It traditionally signifies the end of the Christmas season, featuring the blessing of candles representing Christ as the "Light of the World".
Meanwhile, in Germany and other parts of Europe, the custom was to observe badgers or hedgehogs. If the animal emerged on a sunny day and saw its shadow, it predicted four more weeks of winter.
This concept soon merged with Candlemas to become Groundhog Day - the day you predict how much time is left of winter.
"And throughout the years, Pennsylvanians withheld the tradition, but just tweaked it to fit their geographical location, where instead of a badger, it was a groundhog. And instead of four more weeks of winter, it was six," Randy explained.
The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated in 1887. It saw a group of citizens in Punxsutawney consulting a groundhog about the weather.
"And given that this was the birthplace of the event, this is where the groundhog watching is held every February 2nd," Randy said.
"And they claim that this groundhog that forecasts the weather is the same Punxsutawney Phil as 1887 Punxsutawney Phil. But I'll let you guys be the judge of whether that's true or not."
