Pennsylvania State Holiday

male narrator: AT FIRST GLANCE,
IT LOOKS LIKE MANY OTHER SMALL TOWNS.
IT HAS A BUSINESS DISTRICT, CHURCHES, AND HOUSES,
JUST LIKE MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES OF SIMILAR SIZE.
BUT IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG TO NOTICE
THAT THERE'S SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT HERE,
FOR ALMOST EVERYWHERE YOU GO,
THERE ARE STATUES OF A FRIENDLY LITTLE ANIMAL.
AND THROUGHOUT THE TOWN,
THE ANIMAL'S LIKENESS CAN BE FOUND ON LAMP SHADES
AND, IN WINTER, AS ICE SCULPTURES.
YOU CAN SEE THE FURRY CREATURE IN WINDOWS
AND ON THE SIDE OF BUILDINGS.
THEY'RE ALL DEPICTIONS OF A GROUNDHOG NAMED PHIL.
THE TOWN THAT PHIL CALLS HOME, THIS TOWN,
IS PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA.
SO HE'S USUALLY CALLED PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL,
OR PUNXSY PHIL FOR SHORT.
AND HE'S BY FAR THE TOWN'S MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT,
ESPECIALLY EVERY FEBRUARY 2ND, GROUNDHOG DAY.
FOR SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE THE HOLIDAY,
THIS NORMALLY QUIET COMMUNITY BEGINS TO HUM WITH ACTIVITY...
OR, IN THIS CASE, ROAR AND SCRAPE.
A FIELD CALLED GOBBLER'S KNOB IS CLEARED
FOR THE HOLIDAY'S MOST NOTABLE EVENT,
WHEN PHIL PREDICTS HOW MUCH LONGER
THE WINTER WEATHER WILL LAST.
ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY, IN DOWNTOWN PUNXSUTAWNEY,
MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO FLOCK TO THE STORES
AND TAKE PART IN PRE-HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES.
THEY HAVE FUN DOING ART PROJECTS.
THEY CARVE ICE AND WOOD.
THEY GO ON HAYRIDES;
LISTEN TO ROCK, FOLK, AND OTHER KINDS OF MUSIC;
RUN IN A RACE; EAT A BIG, SPICY DINNER
WITH MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHILI;
AND WATCH FAMOUS AND NEAR-FAMOUS PEOPLE
WHO HAVE COME FOR THE FESTIVITIES.
THIS ONE IS AN ACTOR WHO WAS FEATURED IN "GROUNDHOG DAY,"
A WELL-KNOWN MOVIE NAMED AFTER THE HOLIDAY.

BUT AS WE MENTIONED,
THIS IS THE REAL STAR OF THE HOLIDAY,
PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL.
HIS HOME IS IN THE TOWN'S LIBRARY.
BEN HUGHES IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE
WHO TAKES CARE OF THE FURRY CREATURE.
HE MAKES CERTAIN
THAT THERE'S PLENTY OF CLEAN STRAW AND WOODCHIPS
IN PHIL'S CAGE.
HE FEEDS THE ANIMAL AND KEEPS TRACK OF ITS HEALTH.
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE,
MR. HUGHES CAN ANSWER ALMOST ANY QUESTION ABOUT PHIL
AND OTHER GROUNDHOGS,
SUCH AS "WHAT DOES PUNXSUTAWNEY EAT?"
- GROUNDHOGS ARE VEGETARIANS.
FOR PHIL, HIS FAVORITE FOOD WOULD BE DANDELIONS,
AND HE'LL EAT BOTH THE GREEN PART
AS WELL AS THE YELLOW PART.
narrator: ANOTHER QUESTION PEOPLE OFTEN ASK IS,
"WHO LIVES WITH PHIL?"
- TWO GROUNDHOGS LIVE AT THE ZOO WITH PHIL,
PHYLLIS AND BARNEY.
GROUNDHOGS LIVE IN GROUPS.
AND, ACTUALLY, A GROUNDHOG'S HOME
IS A LOT LIKE YOUR HOME.
GROUNDHOGS HAVE SEPARATE ROOMS WITH SEPARATE FUNCTIONS.
SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A SEPARATE BATHROOM,
A SEPARATE LIVING AREA,
AND SEPARATE AREAS WHERE THEY SLEEP.
narrator: A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
MANY PEOPLE ASK IS, "DO GROUNDHOGS MAKE GOOD PETS?"
- IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT GROUNDHOGS ARE WILD ANIMALS,
AND IN MOST STATES, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED
TO HAVE A GROUNDHOG THAT LIVES IN YOUR HOME.
SO AS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER, WHEN YOU SEE THEM IN THE WILD,
THAT'S WHERE THEY SHOULD STAY.
narrator: AND FINALLY THIS QUESTION:
"HOW DID GROUNDHOG DAY BEGIN?"
- IT CAME FROM A TIME
WHEN PEOPLE LIVED IN A ONE-ROOM HOUSE
ALL THROUGHOUT THE WINTER,
AND THEY JUST LONGED AND LONGED AND LONGED
FOR WINTER TO BE OVER.
SO THEY WOULD LOOK FOR DIFFERENT WAYS
TO KIND OF PREDICT THAT WEATHER.
narrator: THOSE PEOPLE,
WHO LIVED ON THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE,
ALREADY CELEBRATED A HOLIDAY CALLED CANDLEMAS
ON FEBRUARY 2ND.
ON THAT DAY, WORSHIPERS BROUGHT CANDLES INTO CHURCHES,
AND A PRIEST WOULD BLESS THOSE CANDLES,
WHICH WERE TO BE USED DURING THE UPCOMING YEAR
DURING CHURCH SERVICES AND IN HOMES.
MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ON CANDLEMAS DAY
FORETOLD WHAT THE WEATHER WOULD BE
FOR THE REST OF THE WINTER.
IF IT WAS SUNNY ON CANDLEMAS DAY,
THEY BELIEVED A LONG, COLD WINTER LAY AHEAD.
IF THE DAY WAS CLOUDY, COLD, AND RAINY,
THEY THOUGHT AN EARLY SPRING WAS ON THE WAY.
OVER TIME, TALES AND PROVERBS, OR ANCIENT SAYINGS,
DEVELOPED AROUND THOSE BELIEFS.
FOR INSTANCE, LONG AGO IN GERMANY,
CALLED THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION IN THOSE DAYS,
PEOPLE RECITED THE FOLLOWING POEM.
"ON CANDLEMAS DAY, BADGER LOOKS FROM ITS HOLE.
"AND IF IT SEES BOTH CLOUDS AND SNOW,
"IT KNOWS WARM WINDS SOON WILL BLOW.
"BUT IF IT SEES BRIGHT SUN IN SKY,
WINTER WINDS WON'T SOON DIE."
IN THE 19TH CENTURY,
MANY OF THOSE GERMANS CAME TO AMERICA
AND SETTLED IN THE PUNXSUTAWNEY AREA.
THE TOWN'S HISTORICAL MUSEUM HAS MANY DISPLAYS
THAT SHOW THAT THE NEW SETTLERS
WHO CAME TO THESE ONCE-HELD INDIAN LANDS
BECAME COAL MINERS, LUMBERJACKS, AND FARMERS.
THOSE EARLY SETTLERS BROUGHT TRADITIONS AND STORIES
FROM THE OLD COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE TALE
ABOUT HOW BADGERS COULD PREDICT THE WEATHER.
BUT THERE WERE NO BADGERS IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
SO IN TIME, PEOPLE USED GROUNDHOGS IN THE STORY,
BECAUSE GROUNDHOGS WERE FOUND IN THE AREA.