The Groundhog emerged from its burrow!
February 2nd, 2024 marked the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day, with the event regularly having over 40,000 in attendance every year, even over a century after its inception. The simple idea of a groundhog seeing its shadow dictating whether or not Spring will start early has captivated many, while also insinuating a large proportion of the population has a growing distaste for the holiday.
“Groundhog Day is honestly overrated in my opinion,” student Zach Parker said. The concept of Groundhog Day was built purely on superstition, with no scientific evidence to support the predictions made by the Groundhog. With long-term weather forecast predictions being sufficient to predict the weather for the next months accurately, many wonder why and how Groundhog Day has existed to this day.
To understand the culture that’s kept Groundhog Day alive today, we have to look back to the roots of how Groundhog Day became a thing to begin with. The day can date back to the 1800s. Immigrant Germans jump-started this day in the Americas as an effect of a past superstitious tradition back in Germany of predicting the next weeks of winter weather by looking to see if a badger had a shadow after leaving its burrow. Sound familiar? The parallels between the beginnings of Groundhog Day and today persist and still include the superstition aspect with no growth in actual scientific evidence to back it up.
“Its accuracy is less than 50% making me not care about it at all,” Parker stated. The Groundhog’s accuracy lands at 38%, and a poll done by Livewire showed that 79% of our followers don’t trust its accuracy, so what do the people who celebrate the holiday think about its legitimacy?
“It connects everybody to a little innocent cause after dealing with stressful stuff, I don’t really care about the prediction.” student Charlie Tompkins said. While most aren’t willing to care about the day as a whole, many still enjoy the day as their time off from the real world.
“People that hate the holiday need to have an open mind and lighten up, it’s a single day to be with the community I feel needs to be taken advantage of,” Tompkins said. Many like Tompkins argue that the whole prediction aspect of the day has (literally and figuratively) overshadowed one of the main purposes of the holiday in the first place.
The vessel of Groundhog Day (being the future prediction) has masked the parties, exciting moments, and comfort that surrounded the day. Just like days like Super Bowl Sunday or Halloween, the main point of every holiday isn’t entirely relied on who wins the Super Bowl or who gets the most candy. Some memories are also made during each of these days, whether that be cheering for your favorite team in the Super Bowl or joking around while walking in neighborhoods in crazy costumes. Groundhog Day is an excuse for many to get with family and friends and have something silly to have fun with.
