Paulina Swain ’19, Social Media Manager
A superstition is defined as an unjustified belief in causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event. It can also be defined as allowing a groundhog to dictate when the season of spring weather begins, also known as Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day derives from the Pennysylvania Dutch belief that on Feb. 2, at the end of hibernation, the groundhog emerges from its hole and looks for its shadow. If there is a shadow present, the weather is clear, which means winter has another six weeks to go before spring. Without the shadow, the weather is cloudy which means spring will come earlier than six weeks that year.
“The idea that a groundhog is able to decide what the weather is going to be like in the next upcoming weeks seems a little unrealistic, but I think the day is made to show that spring is coming up and everyone enjoys seeing the adorable groundhog pop out of the ground that day,” senior Chloe Grimes said.
On Feb. 2, Phil, the groundhog emerged, and there was not a shadow in sight. This means that the spring like weather will be coming early this year. Although studies have found no correlation at all between the spring arriving and the groundhog seeing its shadow, the United States continues to use this as a superstitious belief each year.
“I enjoy Groundhog Day because the most fat and cute animal comes out of hibernation and we all love him”, senior Emily Kalinowski said.
Although Groundhog Day is not a scientific or logical way of deciding when the spring weather is going to come, it has become a tradition to what most look foward. This day is dedicated to our groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, and his search for his shadow will continue to be a yearly tradition for a long time. We thank you for your service phil, until next year.
Photo courtesy of TimeandDate.com
Lyon Life 