Feb 02 2009
Move Over Groundhog Day-Chriki the Hedgehog is Taking Over at the Oregon Zoo
Most people think of February 2nd as Groundhog Day, but not at the Oregon Zoo. Here, it’s Hedge Hog Day, and Chriki the Hedgehog, whose name means “blessed” in Swahili, will be making our weather prediction at 10:30 a.m. at the Zoo’s Entry Plaza. Will Chriki see its shadow this year, or will we have six more weeks of arctic blasts?
Metro Council President, David Bragdon says, “The groundhog is a relative newcomer to the prognosticating game,” and, “Historically, the hedgehog was used in this centuries-old European tradition, but immigrants to North America discovered that there were no hedgehogs in their new homeland. They substituted the groundhog, but being purists, we’re going back to the original creature.” Bragdon will be overseeing the festivities for Hedgehog Day.
The use of hedgehogs to predict the weather dates back thousands of years when the Romans believed that if the hedgehog looked out of his den and saw his shadow, there would be a clear moon and six more weeks of winter. The most amazing thing about the similarities between the Romans watching the hedgehog and Americans watching Punxsutawney Phil is that both celebrations were on the same exact day, February 2nd.
Groundhog Day actually originated in the 1700’s by the people who settled Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, believed in the legend of Candlemans Day. If the sun shone on Candlemans Day, so far the snow will swirl in May,” or so the legend goes. Candlemans Day fell in the middle of Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Clergymen would bless candles to be placed in everyone’s windows.
The earliest recorded reference to Groundhog Day in America is displayed at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, and is
dated February 4th, 1841. It explains that German settlers believe that if the Groundhog peeps out of his winter home and sees his shadow, he naps for six more weeks, but if it’s cloudy, he stays up.
Originally, the Germans were watching a badger for its shadow, but in Pennsylvania, it was replaced by the Groundhog. In 1886, a newspaper editor named Clymer Freas printed in The Punxsutawney Spirit, “Today is Groundhog Day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow.”
Then, the groundhog was given the name “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”. Suddenly, Punxsutawney was named the “Weather Capital of the World.”
On his first appearance, there was no shadow, which meant there would be an early spring. The next year, the tradition of going to Gobbler’s Knob began.
Today, Punxsutawney is still a fairly small town of under ten thousand people, but on February 2nd every year, thousands flock to Gobbler’s Knob to see the famous groundhog predict the coming of spring.
In 1993, a movie starring Bill Murray called ‘Groundhog Day’ created an even bigger buzz for the annual ritual visit to Gobbler’s Knob. Suddenly thousands of people became tens of thousands of people.
Just how often does Punxsutawney Phil get it right? According to http://www.groundhog.org/about/ he gets it right 100 percent of the time and is 120 years old. In reality, the guessing groundhog only gets it right 39% of the time. Since the first official trip to Gobbler’s Knob, he’s seen his shadow 97 times, no shadow 15 times, and there is no record for 9 years of the festivities.
February 2nd, 2009 marks the 123rd trip to Gobbler’s Knob for Punxsutawney Phil’s official prognostication. Among the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be fireworks, fun, and the official prediction at about 7:25 a.m. Eastern Time.
Most Oregonians won’t be awake when the groundhog shows himself, which will be at about 4:25 our time, but every morning news show will be doing a report on the famous fur ball, then you can head off to the Oregon Zoo http://www.oregonzoo.org/ to see what Chriki predicts. Want another opinion? Canada’s groundhog, Wiarton Willie will be making his prediction from Ontario, Canada as well.
Whether you trust a groundhog, a hedgehog, a badger, or a meteorologist to predict the weather, February 2nd is a great opportunity to teach your kiddos a little about traditions, how they start, how they’re passed down, and why we celebrate February 2nd, Groundhog-Hedgehog-Badger day.
