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PROGNOSTICATOR OF PROGNOSTICATORS: Groundhog Day burrows deep roots in Pa. history
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GROUNDHOG CLUB HANDLER A.J. DEREUME HOLDS PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL, THE WEATHER PROGNOSTICATING GROUNDHOG, DURING THE 135TH CELEBRATION OF GROUNDHOG DAY ON GOBBLER'S KNOB IN PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA., LAST YEAR.
prognosticator of prognosticators
Groundhog Day burrows deep roots in Pennsylvania history
Story by Rochelle Shellehamer | Photos by Associated Press
february 2. Dawn. As the sun breaks over the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, its residents prepare for the busiest day on their calendar. Visitors will be coming from near and far to celebrate the wisdom of the Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, a groundhog named Phil.
Question: What is it that makes Phil so special? Answer: He has a great PR team.
Did you know there are more than 20 Groundhog Lodges in operation today? Most are in Pennsylvania and each has its own meteorological groundhog. In previous years, there were many more lodges dating back to the time of the migration of German immigrants who would come to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
The Deitsch brought their traditions and holidays with them, just like every other group of immigrants before and since. One such holiday was Dachstag, or Badger Day. It was celebrated on Feb. 2, whereupon a badger seeing its shadow when it emerged from its den meant four more weeks of winter.
While many still trace the origins of the holiday to the Christian celebration of Candlemas, it’s actually much older. When the Germans were converted to Christianity, they already celebrated this holiday and they simply continued to do so. Gleaning information about the weather from animal behavior has been a practice for a very long time. It can’t have taken too many illadvised attempts at pulling a badger out of its burrow on a cold February
Punxsutawney
Punxsutawney, famous the world over for its quirky Groundhog Day celebration, was originally a Native American campsite. Situated halfway between the Allegheny and Susquehanna rivers, its location made it convenient for travel; in fact, the town is located on the earliest known trail to the east, the Shamokin Path. Punxsutawney was officially incorporated as a borough in 1850. Coal mining has given way to light industry and, of course, tourism — the considerable fame and popularity of Punxsutawney Phil ensure that this charming small town is flooded with visitors each Feb. 2.
GROUNDHOG CLUB HANDLER A.J. DEREUME HOLDS PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL, THE WEATHER PROGNOSTICATING GROUNDHOG, AS VICE PRESIDENT TOM DUNKEL READS THE SCROLL DURING THE 135TH CELEBRATION OF GROUNDHOG DAY ON GOBBLER’S KNOB IN PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA., FEB. 2, 2021. PHIL’S HANDLERS SAID THAT THE GROUNDHOG HAD FORECAST SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER WEATHER DURING THE EVENT THAT WAS HELD WITHOUT ANYONE IN ATTENDANCE DUE TO POTENTIAL COVID-19 RISKS. morning to convince the Deitsch they needed a new critter.
As they examined the fauna of their new home, one creature stood out to them as being inherently connected to the age-old pre-Christian traditions they were trying to keep alive. That creature was the grundsau, or groundhog. There are two reasons this rodent is appropriate.
The first was the layout of a groundhog’s burrow. If you’ve never seen one, or a drawing of one, it looks a lot like an ant colony, with a series of chambers connected by a series of tunnels. This arrangement resembled depictions of an idea from an Ancient Norse religion – that of the Nine Realms of Reality – being connected by a “world tree,” which they called Yggdrasil. To them, the animal’s burrow resembles the map of the heavens.
This discovery alone might not have been enough to elevate the groundhog to such a lofty status. Yggdrasil wasn’t just the structure holding the Nine Realms in place, it was also the
Metro Creative Library IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY, THE MESSENGER SQUIRREL RATATOSKR RAN OVER THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES OF THE WORLD TREE DELIVERING MESSAGES TO AND FROM THE GODS.
highway between those realms. and that highway actually had a citizen, the messenger squirrel Ratatoskr. He spent his days zipping along the trunk and branches of the world tree delivering messages to and from the gods.
A groundhog is an interesting substitute for a squirrel. The Viking Era was fraught with conflict, war could break out at any moment, so a messenger needed to be swift. However, rural Pennsylvania in the early 1800s, was not threatened by Vikings, nor were the Pennsylvania Dutch people who sought conflict: Their goal was peaceful existence. Also, squirrels are rarely still and, surely you’ve seen a groundhog. They look rather inclined to hang out, have a nice lunch, and dish gossip all afternoon.
AN ANCIENT TRADITION CONTINUES
The threads the Pennsylvania Dutch brought with them, and their holiday of Grundsaudaag, are The World Tree, Yggdrasil, and the messenger squirrel, Ratatoskr.
This ancient belief that prioritizes two traditions and is actively embraced by followers today is called Urglaawe (urg-laa-va). It draws on the pre-Christian “holdouts” from Europe who passed their beliefs on to the Pennsylvania Dutch. Urglaawe encompasses a peaceful tradition, but adherents are not pacifists. There are no epic battles, no mighty heroes, and certainly no apocalypse at the end of everything. “Peaceful hobbits” is a term that accurately defines most of these believers.
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GROUNDHOG CLUB CO-HANDLER AL DEREUME HOLDS PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL, THE WEATHER PROGNOSTICATING GROUNDHOG, DURING THE 134TH CELEBRATION OF GROUNDHOG DAY ON GOBBLER’S KNOB IN PUNXSUTAWNEY IN FEB. 2, 2020.
Dutch folk custom to a quaint tradition for everyone in the United States and Canada?
Robert L. Schreiwer, honest PA Dutchman and author of multiple books on Urglaawe, believes the holiday caught on because much of the U.S. is still rural, especially Pennsylvania. According to Schreiwer, “It comes from a time when people had few reliable means of knowing when they could plant, and they relied upon their relationship with nature and with the animals to make determinations about the consumption of remaining food stores and to plan for the planting.”
Punxsutawney first made a big “deal” about it groundhog in 1886. At that time, people were still growing most of their own food or purchasing it at local markets. Everybody was invested in bountiful harvests.
Stacey Lynn Stewart, an artist from the suburbs of Philadelphia, connects the ancient with the modern. She wrote, “I think it represents the end of winter, the season of self reflection. Even Bill Murray had to actually learn something about himself before he could leave town.”
A Berks county native with a long line of Pennsylvania German ancestors, Michelle A. Jones is very pragmatic about the whole affair, a common trait amongst the Deitsch. She says, “I’m not a fan of winter, so I look forward to Phil’s prediction every year. He’s either going to give
— STACEY LYNN STEWART, PA. ARTIST me a little joy because it’ll soon warm up, or the strength to push through the last blahs of snow and ice. A lot of that strength draws on the fact that, at least for a day, people from all walks of life come together to hear the news.”
Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day in the United States. When the day arrives, be sure to wish your friends and neighbors a ”Halliches Grundsaudaag!” Then explain that you weren’t sneezing, just wishing them a Happy Groundhog Day in the language of the first people to celebrate it in Pennsylvania.
