The Gospel According to Phil

The definitive history of Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2, which is 40 days hence Christmas and the exact midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. On this day, we celebrate the uncanny ability of rodents, around here it’s groundhogs, to tell us when to expect spring. I admire the percipient quality of humans to delegate this task onto a still-slumbering animal, drawn early out of hibernation, to make this most important prediction, as we grumpy Northeasterners continue to endure the darkest and coldest days of winter…