Groundhog Day

 To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten that Groundhog Day existed. And, let’s be honest, most of you didn’t remember it either. From its humble beginnings in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, this holiday has spread across the nation, despite the fact that people still don’t care about it. Every year on February 2nd, bored people gather around the good ol’ telly to watch a groundhog emerge from its burrow to look at its shadow, or lack thereof. Traditional groundhog folklore claims that if the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, we get an early spring. But if he does, we get six more weeks of winter.

Right across the street from Cistercian, at the University of Dallas, the world’s second largest Groundhog Day celebration is held. I asked around for different monks who attended UD for their opinions on the celebration there, and Father Philip stood out.  He had never been to the celebration, and after church one day he asked a friend about it but she hadn’t been either. They made an agreement to go together but, lo and behold, he got stood up. That’s unfortunate. You can purchase your tickets for the 2018 groundhog day celebration online. The party in the park will take place on February 3rd. There will be many fun activities that may or may not be related to groundhogs. If that isn’t your cup of tea then check out Pinterest’s groundhog day celebration ideas!

But honestly, Groundhog Day is a dead holiday. Nonetheless, your local Informer©  has cared enough for a 600 word article about it even though there are few to no fun facts about it. It should also be explicitly stated that the groundhog has no effect on the seasons –It’s a lie. Seriously, who cares if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? The sunlight traveled over 90 million miles to reach the Earth and people worry about whether or not it was stopped by an 8.6 pound, hole dwelling RODENT?? That is really unnecessary, but a small fraction of the population of America (and a few Canadians) care enough to keep it a holiday… but not a national holiday that would merit a day off from school.

Why groundhogs?  That is a valid question my dear reader, to which I will respond. Originally, it was a badger rather than a groundhog, but it was changed. Other than that, there is no reason for there to be a groundhog rather than a squirrel or marmot. Marmot’s Day doesn’t have the same ring to it though, does it?

Possibly the only redeeming quality to this minor holiday is that it has given birth to Fr. Ambrose’s favorite movie. I mean really, it’s got Bill Murray! He’s a national treasure. We should just ask Bill Murray to predict the weather for the next 6 weeks beginning on groundhog’s day. Fun fact: the groundhog in the movie bit Bill Murray on set once. That’s all I can say about it really. Have a good groundhog day!