It may be hard to believe as a large swath of the U.S. thaws out from a bitter polar vortex, but spring is coming early, according to handlers for some of the country’s most famous prognosticating groundhogs.
Just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW’-nee) Phil emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania at sunrise and didn’t see his shadow. Nearly the same series of events unfolded about 300 miles (483 kilometers) to the east, where Staten Island Chuck’s handlers also revealed the same prediction.
The festivities have their origin in a German legend that says if a furry rodent casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter continues. If not, spring comes early.
In reality, Phil’s prediction is decided ahead of time by the group on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill just outside Punxsutawney. That’s about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped attending Staten Island’s Groundhog Day ceremony in 2015, a year after he accidentally dropped the furry critter that died a week later.
And he wasn’t the only New York City mayor who struggled with the holiday. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was bitten at a Groundhog Day ceremony in 2009.
(AP)
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9 Responses
Why are these guys in yeshivish lvush playing with groundhogs on Shabbos morning?? A Shanda for the goyim.
What the heck is this avoda zara doing on this website?
What’s hard to believe is that such idiotic, frivolous rubbish that even its advocates admit is “not so accurate” appears on a website that purports to cater to the yeshiva world. Don’t forget to report about the Super Bowl today too!
Isn’t there a halachic issue with giving any chashivus to a superstition of the akum? B’chukosay’hem?
This is an isur de’oraisa of b’chukoseihem.
Please remove this article from Yeshiva World News.
Why is ywn posting shtusim?
Confused why this goyish superstition is worthy of ywn….
It started as a superstition from one small group of people, but I think this is now so generic and forgotten about that it’s another generic festival such as that holiday in 10 days from now, or that one 8 months from now that deals with candy and costumes.
The real news is, this Groundhog has a better track record than the AP and CNN combined.
To American Yerushalmi: In addition to their excellent coverage of Groundhog Day, you pleaded with the editors to “not forget to report about the Super Bowl today too!” Well, they listened carefully and indeed just posted an excellent article about yidden and the SuperBowl wining New England Patriots. If you have a few moments, you will greatly enjoy (and no inappropriate pictures of the cheerleaders et. al.). Seriously though, the editors seem to have a good sense of how to cover a secular or current news item that while not focused on yiddeshkeit per se, is an item of general interest even within segments of the frum tzibur. Also, they often find some humorous and unusual aspects of the issue we don’t read elsewhere so lighten up and enjoy. There is more to the world than terrorist attacks, PELEG protests, Trumpkopf Tweets, shiduch crises, welfare fraud and political intrigue within the religious parties.