READY TO "CHUCK" WINTER? by Pam North While many Gilpinites are hard-core winter enthusiasts, a healthy percentage of local residents view winter as the season that must be endured to have summer. Whatever their philosophy, hope for numerous more skiing days or anticipation of balmy weather, both groups should be interested in an event of relevant importance. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. Tradition has it that the groundhog (a large rodent also known as a woodchuck, from Wojak the groundhog of Indian legend) pops out of his snug burrow, and if he sees his shadow, he returns to his quarters for another six weeks of winter. Groundhog Day has its roots in Candlemas Day, which originated in the pagan celebration of Imbole. It came at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Superstition held that if the weather was fair on Candlemas Day, the second half of winter would be cold and stormy. It was also the custom for the clergy to bless candles and distribute them on that day. Rhymes from the past reveal the tradition: If Candlemas be fair and bright/ Winter has another flight/If Candlemas brings clouds and rain/Winter will not come again (England); If Candlemas is bright and clear/There'll be two winters in the year (Scotland); For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day/So far will the snow swirl until May/For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day/So far will the sun shine before May (Germany); If the sun shines on Candlemas Day/Half the fuel and half the hay (America). New England farmers knew well that, cloudy or not, February 2nd was usually the heart of winter, and if half the farmer's supply of hay was not remaining on that day, lean times were ahead for his cows before spring brought fresh grass. Germans, who had watched the badger for its shadow before immigrating to America, settled in great numbers in Pennsylvania, where the profusion of groundhogs there soon prompted the German settlers to adopt them as the animal of choice for shadow-watching. The earliest American reference to Candlemas Day and its association with the groundhog was found in a Pennsylvania storekeeper's diary, dated February 4, 1881, and on February 2, 1886, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania began its long-running famous Groundhog Day celebration, naming their groundhog "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary." His debut performance result was no shadow. In the following years from 1887 to 2001, Phil's shadow has been seen 91 times, not seen 14 times, and 9 years in the late 1800s went unrecorded. Phil's success rate at prediction has been 39%, leaving one to wonder why the tradition shouldn't be reversed to a sunny day being the precursor of a short remaining winter; then Phil would have been right 61% of the time. Phil is quite a celebrity for a groundhog. He visited President Reagan at the White House in 1987, made an appearance in the 1993 movie "Groundhog Day," and guested on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1995. During Prohibition Phil supposedly threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter on a community if it didn't allow him to have a drink. Phil weighs 15 pounds and, eschewing the normal diet of groundhogs (succulent green plants, such as dandelion, clover and grasses), seems to thrive on dog food and ice cream. He has a climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library, from which he is taken each February 2nd to his heated burrow underneath a simulated stump on a stage at Gobbler's Knob. From there he is pulled out at 7:25 a.m. to make his prediction. Don't miss this year's event. To accompany article, see http://www.stormfax.com/ghogday.htm Old illustration of Bre'r Groundhog at Work in the Weather Library Also photo of Phil's Gobbler Knob burrow. Have contacted Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce for permission to use this, and expect a reply today. Can tell you early this evening if they say okay.