Happy Groundhog Day!
I almost forgot it was Groundhog Day. Then I remembered, and checked out the official site wherin I learned that groundhog megastar Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and therefore we can expect six more weeks of winter.
I wonder how far this prediction spreads? Phil is in Pennsylvania, and I’m in Utah. Are his predictions regional or strictly domestic? Do they apply in Canada or in Europe? There has to be a cutoff at some point, because that prediction cannot have much credence in Australia, where it is currently summer.
After learning that there is an official 2008 Punxsatawney Phil groundhog Ty Beanie Baby (wow, they still make those?), I learned some interesting facts about Groundhog Day, especially in answer to this pressing question:
How many "Phils" have there been over the years?
There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years! Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.
Wow, that doesn’t sound like stuff of legend at all! I wonder if a pilgrimage to Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania on February 2 allows said pilgrim to obtain the secret recipe to the elixir of life? That would explain why so many freaking people show up between the hours of 3:00am and 7:00am for the cold, cold festivities. I don’t mind the cold, but those are definitely sleepin’ hours for me during the winter months.
The groundhog.org website is improved over last year’s version, which I originally discovered via a magical Google search. I do have a vague recollection of an exclusive 2007 Groundhog Beanie Baby. But I still have one pressing question about the spelling of "Punxsatawney," referencing both the city and the groundhog: why is that letter S in the word when clearly the letter X serves the double purpose of representing the sounds of both K and S?
According to this friendly little educational calendar snippet, the name Punxsutawney comes from the Indian name for the location "ponksad-uteney" which means "the town of the sandflies." Still doesn’t answer my question, especially because in that pronunciation, a K is used instead of an X. Maybe I’ll learn more on February 2, 2009.
Unless I can get an invite to the elusive, exclusive Groundhog Picnic? That sounds like fun.
