GROUNDHOG DAY

 Hiya!

Now that the wintry weather is making us freeze, I'm bringing you an interesting and cultural entry...related to Groundhog Day. You'll have to excuse me, because I wanted to write this entry before, but I had no time...

First of all, I might need to explain what a groundhog is. A groundhog or a woodchuck is a rodent similar to a squirrel, which hibernates and lives in a burrow. Actions speak louder than words, so I'll post an image. 

From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Groundhog_Female_Standing.jpg

Well, in some parts of North America and Canada, they have a weird tradition involving this cute animal. The most famous celebrations take place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where thousands of attendees witness the event...

On February, 2nd, in Punxsutawney and other parts, a groundhog typically named Phil, is taken out of its burrow with the ardous task of predicting how long the winter will last. Wow! Too much responsibility on one small animal. If the groudnhog sees its shadow, it will go back to its burrow and that will mean there are (apparently) six more weeks of winter ahead Americans. If groundhog Phil doesn't see his shadow, it means winter is probably over and the spring season will start in no time! But how does the groundhog communicate its prediction? Well, it has to speak its language (groundhogese) to the president of the inner circle and, based on that, the vicepresident will take the scroll with the prediction and will read it aloud.

Well, sounds crazy but the whole ritual is worth seeing: people shouting Phil's name in unison; spectators thrilled about its "predictions..." 

It goes without saying that from a scientific point of view, this ritual has no value. In fact, poor Phil has only been right 34% times. 

Again, actions speak louder than words, so, here you have the video of Graoundhog Day 2023:

On this video, you have a full explanation of Graoundhog Day, including its origin:

Last but not least, here you have the trailer to the film: Groundhog Day, which made this tradition popular. In it, the protagonist is trapped in Groundhog Day and lives it again and again and again. 

Well, I really hope you liked this entry. 

See you around.