Saturday, 1 February 2020 10:27 pm
Groundhog Day
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deckardcanineIt’s often said that Groundhog Day is absolutely weird.
I searched the Net to learn when this tradition first appeared.
The European pagans marked a midway point between
The solstice and the equinox. “The land will soon be green!”
The Christians dubbed it Candlemas, but people still would mark
How warmth was soon to follow if the day was pretty dark.
In German-speaking areas, they had a special take:
As long as little animals like badgers would awake,
Come out, and see their shadows, that fulfilled a rule of thumb;
The day was not too overcast, so weeks of cold would come.
The superstition traveled with the Pennsylvania Dutch.
They must have found the badger didn’t show itself too much,
And so they came to settle on the woodchuck (no real hog).
A Groundhog Day was mentioned in an 1840 log.
In 1887 was the first “official” fete:
The Punxsutawney Spirit had the bright idea to get
More visitors to Gobbler’s Knob to watch a big event,
Which then involved a hunt for meat (it sounds a little bent).
In 1961, officials named their groundhog Phil
In honor of the prince, perhaps. The moniker is still
Applied today, yet surely this is not the selfsame beast,
As after six to eight long years, he should have been deceased.
Now this is where the legend gets especially bizarre:
Presiders say elixir’s kept dear Phil alive so far.
They also say he chatters in a tongue they understand
And always gets it right, but their proceedings all are planned,
And scientists report that more than half the time, he’s wrong.
That hasn’t stopped the fete from being popular this long,
Though other towns provide their own prognosticating creatures.
(The Texas armadillo has some less appealing features.)
What once was simple folklore sure got goofy over time.
I won’t begrudge adherents; if it’s just for fun, that’s fine.
I searched the Net to learn when this tradition first appeared.
The European pagans marked a midway point between
The solstice and the equinox. “The land will soon be green!”
The Christians dubbed it Candlemas, but people still would mark
How warmth was soon to follow if the day was pretty dark.
In German-speaking areas, they had a special take:
As long as little animals like badgers would awake,
Come out, and see their shadows, that fulfilled a rule of thumb;
The day was not too overcast, so weeks of cold would come.
The superstition traveled with the Pennsylvania Dutch.
They must have found the badger didn’t show itself too much,
And so they came to settle on the woodchuck (no real hog).
A Groundhog Day was mentioned in an 1840 log.
In 1887 was the first “official” fete:
The Punxsutawney Spirit had the bright idea to get
More visitors to Gobbler’s Knob to watch a big event,
Which then involved a hunt for meat (it sounds a little bent).
In 1961, officials named their groundhog Phil
In honor of the prince, perhaps. The moniker is still
Applied today, yet surely this is not the selfsame beast,
As after six to eight long years, he should have been deceased.
Now this is where the legend gets especially bizarre:
Presiders say elixir’s kept dear Phil alive so far.
They also say he chatters in a tongue they understand
And always gets it right, but their proceedings all are planned,
And scientists report that more than half the time, he’s wrong.
That hasn’t stopped the fete from being popular this long,
Though other towns provide their own prognosticating creatures.
(The Texas armadillo has some less appealing features.)
What once was simple folklore sure got goofy over time.
I won’t begrudge adherents; if it’s just for fun, that’s fine.