Munedawg Communications

It’s Groundhog Day woodchuckers and upchuckers!

The day when Punxsatawny Phil, “prognosticator of prognosticators”, makes his big “weather prediction” for the upcoming months. How did this all come to be? How did the U.S. of A., one of the most developed and sophisticated of nations in the world start using a overgrown squirrel to make public policy? 🤨

According to the official website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club the celebration is a continuation of the Christian religious holiday of Candlemas when people would bring their candles to the church to be blessed in order to bring blessings to their households for the remaining winter:

As time rolled on the day evolved into another form. The following English folk song highlights the transition to weather prognostication.

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

This “interpretation” of Candlemas Day became the norm for most of Europe.

As you can read, there is no mention of an animal of any kind in the preceding song. It wasn’t until this traditional belief was introduced to Germany that an animal was introduced into the lore, hence another evolution of February 2nd. If, according to German lore, the hedgehog saw his shadow on Candlemas Day there would be a “Second Winter” or 6 more weeks of bad weather.

As German settlers came to what is now the United States, so too came their traditions and folklore. With the absence of hedgehogs in the United States, a similar hibernating animal was chosen. This leads us to yet another evolution in the legend and to present day Punxsutawney.

At the ceremony itself, Phil’s handlers, the so-called “Inner Circle” bring him out of his (temporary) “home” and “consult” with him to find out if he has seen his shadow or not.

So how accurate are Phil’s predictions? According to outside estimates, Phil is right about 35-41% of the time. Even a TV weatherman on the planet Pluto is more accurate! 👽

This morning Phil saw his shadow so therefore he is predicting 6 more weeks of winter. 😕

But according to leading experts, we could be experiencing a warmer than usual February here in the East.

But it’s all done in good fun so happy rodent day! 😃

And of course the event is more popular than ever thanks to the 1993 movie of the same name, Groundhog Day.

I absolutely love the film. It is a very clever idea executed brilliantly with just the right tone. It is very funny but also thoughtful and poignant at times. It of course stars the inimitable Bill Murray in fine form as usual with leading lady Andie MacDowall providing the perfect foil for his character of “Phil Connors”. Complimented of course by great performances from his brother Brian Doyle-Murray and Chris Elliott.

And I particularly like the following exchange between Phil and a local, Ralph, at a bowling alley:

PHIL: What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?

RALPH: That about sums it up for me.

Now is the idea for Groundhog Day totally original? Actually no. For instance, Richard Lupoff wrote the short story “12:01 P.M.” in 1973 which concerned a man who kept on reliving the same hour over and over again. This was made into a short film and a TV movie. Lupoff and his lawyer tried to sue Columbia Pictures for what they perceived as a ripoff of his story. It didn’t work and they had to drop the lawsuit. And, as usual in fiction, other people have gone before Lupoff. In 1955 Brian Aldiss wrote “Not for an Age”, a short story that dealt with a man reliving the same day over and over again. In 1956 Frederick Pohl wrote the “Tunnel Under the World” short story and X-Minus One episode that dealt with the same theme. In 1988 Geoffrey Landis wrote “Ripples in the Dirac Sea” dealing with a similar theme.

And I remember reading a short story, probably in one of the ’70s science-fiction anthologies, that had the same scenario, a man reliving the same day over and over again, but unlike Groundhog Day it was totally nightmarish. And it used the metaphor of steam being constantly recycled in a radiator and I thought it was called “Steam”, but I haven’t been able to find a record of it on the web. Does anybody have a recollection of this story?