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February 3, 2015

Groundhog Day -- Six More Weeks of Winter or Spring?



GroundHog Day
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 2005
Yesterday was Groundhog Day and in our area, the sun shone brightly, so we will see six more weeks of winter weather. Since I’m in Texas our winters are usually not that bad and this year we’ve been very lucky. So far, knock on wood, no snow or ice.
But how did this custom get started? According to Wikipedia, a diary entry dated February 4, 1841 is the first documented American recording of this German custom.
In Scotland, the Poem: 
If Candle-mas Day is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year.

If Candle mas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

And yes, there are three different spellings of Candlemas.
Here in the United States, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the where the biggest celebration of Groundhog Day occurs with Punxsutawney Phil the celebrity groundhog. Crowds as large as 40,000 people have gathered to celebrate this holiday with food, speeches, and plays. At Grundsow Lodge, the holiday is celebrated with only the Pennsylvania German dialect spoken at the event. If you speak English, you pay a penalty for each word spoken.
If you’ve not seen the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot, I highly recommend that you rent it. Poor Bill Murray is trapped in a time loop and every morning when he wakes up its Groundhog Day all over again. It’s a film that will remind you of what’s important and how we can become trapped by our priorities.

So with Groundhog Days arrival, are you ready for spring or do you want six more weeks of winter?

Look for Sylvia's latest release on February 13, Dangerous, book 3 in the Lipstick and Lead Series.


Information and pictures retrieved from Wikipedia. Movie Poster owned by Columbia Pictures.

13 comments:

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Wow, what an interesting blog, Sylvia! I had no idea and thank you for sharing.

chris keniston said...

this year I'm ignoring Phil and going with Staten Island Chuck- he said early spring !

and I love those covers - great series!

ptclayton said...

I hope he was really wrong as I had to cancel my pedi and hair cut as we are getting some more early snow today. Love the poem it is really nice of you to post that!

Kimberly Dawn said...

The history of groundhog day is interesting. No matter what the groundhog says, I am ready for Spring! I have had enough of the cold and bad roads. Did you see where that Mayor got bit on the ear by the groundhog? Ouch!

Kathy Ivan said...

I'm already read for Spring to begin. And Sylvia I love the move Groundhog Day, it's so funny and touching at the same time.

And I agree with Chris, love the covers of your series.

Sylvia said...

Vicki,
Yes, I was going to write this weeks blog about Valentine's Day, but I wasn't feeling the love. I was cold and kept thinking about Spring. That's when I decided to go with Groundhog day.

Sylvia said...

Hi Chris,
Thanks for the comment on my covers. I love them too. Ruby is getting close to being completed and then next will be Hannah's story.

I'm with you on being ready for Spring and right now any varmint that wants to predict Spring is good with me.

Sylvia said...

PT Clayton,
I loved that poem as well. I thought that was pretty neat. Sorry about the mani/pedi...I'm needing one as well.

Sylvia said...

Hi Kim,
Yes, I did see where the Mayor got bit. The whole process seems kind of silly to me. You guys have had a lot more snow than we have - which has been none this year. But this upper respiratory infection made me long for spring.

Sylvia said...

Kathy,
You know I'm really not a big Bill Murray fan, but I loved that movie and the message of it. Did you see where they're redoing Ghost Busters and they will be women instead of men? Love it.

Unknown said...

I never pay much attention to the groundhog, or any other rodents for that matter!

Thanks for the informative post, Sylvia!

Eva's Flowers said...

That is one of my favorite movies Sylvia and if this dates me...oh well...but I went to see this movie when it came out in the theatres :)

We pretty much enjoy our winters here in sunny Phoenix, though we do get cold weather here and there.

PJ Bishop said...

Here in the Pacific Northwest spring means slightly warmer (5-10 degrees) but still wet and gray and soggy and mizzly and... You get the idea.
BUT...everything is green!