With large swaths of the United States covered in snow and trapped in the deep freeze of an arctic oscillation, Punxsutawney Phil is preparing to emerge from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob to predict the weather for the rest of winter. According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early Spring.
I don't put much faith in the weather forecasting of rodents. But there must be some useful lessons that a parent can teach their geeklets about Groundhog Day.
First, try researching with your kid. What exactly is a groundhog? We discovered that it's a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group known as marmots. Marmota monax is also known as a woodchuck. So in addition to "predicting" the approach of Spring, we have to wonder how much wood Phil would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. But there are others, including Smith Lake Jake, Staten Island Chuck, General Beauregard Lee, Shubenacadie Sam and Wiarton Willie. Will they all have the same prediction? Have your kids compile their predictions and see how they each perform.
Take a look at the history of Groundhog weather predictions. You can trace it back to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas. “For as the sun shines on Candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in May…”. Groundhog Day also bears similarities to Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1.
Of course, there is tradition just for the sake of tradition. Kids love tradition. Even a tradition as odd as a group of tuxedo-clad men pulling a rodent out of its burrow to predict the approach of Spring. Why not have a celebration on this cold February day? After all, maybe Spring will come early.
Image of a Groundhog Standing is by April King, used under a GNU Free Documentation License.
