Natalia Chi
Beloved winter holidays are approaching. While much of the day’s attention is directed to specific rodents in Pennsylvania, the local groundhog is also found in the same remote Northwestern Chicago region where the iconic movie Groundhog Day was depicted. Looking for his shadow in the suburbs. ” was filmed at
Groundhog Day, February 2, marks the six weeks until spring and is a folklore story that can be traced back to the 5th century. According to the National Weather Service.
Around that time, the NWS said:
“According to German and French folklore, when marmots and bears emerged from their winter dens too early, they were frightened by the shadows and returned indoors for four to six weeks.” This was adopted by the Romans as Hedgehog Day. When Christianity was born, the formerly pagan ritual came to be called Candlemass.”
According to the NWS, the earliest American mention of Groundhog Day was in a shopkeeper’s journal in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, dated February 4, 1841.
“The second Tuesday of last week was Candlemass, the day when, according to the Germans, groundhogs peek out of their winter quarters, see their shadows, and go back to take a six-week nap.” is written in the entry. “But if the day is cloudy, he goes outside because the weather is mild.”
The rest, as they say, is history – both meteorology and the big screen.
It’s tricky to trust marmots in such a pivotal role, but one of the famous groundhog towns, about 61 miles northwest of Chicago, is Woodstock Willie’s Annual Report look to
Every year in the town of Woodstock, “groundhog days, a multi-day festival celebrating the famous 1992 film shot in the town – site walking tours, film screenings, groundhog trivia, pub crawls and, of course, the official Groundhog Day prophecy at 7am. It is done. February 2.
“If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter,” reads the description of the event. It means that we will welcome the early spring.”
To wake Woodstock Willie out of his “winter nap,” the event will of course include a polka band performing on a bandstand in an iconic location as an illusion of the film.
“This is a reenactment of the Groundhog Day ceremony that Bill Murray reported on so many times. That scene from the movie was filmed here in Woodstock Square.”
According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, which does not include groundhog meteorologists, February 2 is forecast to be partly cloudy with temperatures around 30 degrees. Thursday’s weather will be slightly warmer than Monday and Tuesday’s frigid cold, but “don’t forget your boots because it’s cold!”
