Catholic Connection to Groundhog Day| National Catholic Register

If Candlemas be fair and bright, winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, winter will not come again…

Famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerged early this morning and saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of wintry weather. The annual tradition where men in top hats make the grand announcement happened yet again from Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania. 

Of course Phil isn’t the only weather-rodent around. Fred the Marmot and Shubenacadie Sam shared the same prediction as Phil, but Canada’s Wiarton Willie melted the hearts of the freezing revelers with an early spring prediction this year. 

Although the verdict is still out on the soon-to-be-fading frosty weather, one thing is clear: there are real Catholic connections to this ever-so-secular moment. 

Made most famous by the 1993 Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray (who also has an unknown Catholic connection being that his sister is a religious nun!), the festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has origins in Catholicism. 

Marking also the Presentation of the Lord, on this day, we remember when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Jewish temple for consecration after his birth. The Gospel account speaks of a righteous man named Simeon, who made a prophetic statement about Jesus calling him: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. 

In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI expounded on the feast day: 

“The evangelical image of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple contains the fundamental symbol of light; the light that comes from Christ and shines on Mary and Joseph, on Simeon and Anna, and through them, on everyone. The Fathers of the Church connected this radiance with the spiritual journey.”

Also known as the Purification of Mary, this feast falls 40 days after the Nativity. In fact, until not long ago, the Church celebrated the season of Christmas for 40 days until Feb. 2, matching the 40 days of Lent.

Catholics also mark the day as Candlemas, heading to church candles-in-hand for a blessing to recognize the divine light of Christ that dispels darkness. Just as Simeon had once predicted.

During medieval times, Candlemas also became a a monumental day in the life of farmers who were anxious to know about how fruitful their crops might be with spring approaching. 

Predictions about the weather were made based on the presence of sunlight or darkness. On Candlemas Day, many European folk rhymes passed down through the centuries document this: 

If Candlemas be fair and bright, winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, winter will not come again.

Tom Curry, founder of the Punxsutawney Historical Association hopes people
will learn more about this special date as hundreds flock to this tiny Pennsylvania town waiting for a furry rodent to appear. 

“Alot of people don’t know the history of how it got here,” Curry said on EWTN News In Depth on a special segment marking the Catholic connection to Groundhog Day. 

Curry says the celebration can be traced centuries back to Germany when the liturgical tradition of Candlemas coupled with weather speculation developed into these animal weather predictions in some historic folklore accounts. 

The badgers were the original weather prognosticators of Candlemas Day, but as Germans settlers found home in Pennsylvania, the groundhog would soon takes its place with an overabundance of the four-legged furry creature in the plains of the state. 

The old folk rhymes like, “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year,” were replaced wtih a new style read in the early morning hours every Groundhog Day: 

Where Phil and his shadow, or lack thereof indicate what’s to come.

But what this weather did not provide is a shadow or reason to hide.

The Catholic connection Groundhog Day might seem waning or essentially non-existent these days but the Catholic faith is alive and well in several members of the 15-person team that oversees the annual tradition. 

“I’m lucky enough to get to hang out with this famous guy for my tenure as Punxsutawney Phil’s handler,” A.J. Dereume told EWTN News. “There’s also been a strong Catholic contingency in Punxsutawney.” 

The cute little groundhog always makes a stop at the only Catholic school in the city, Sts. Cosmas and Damian Catholic School. “The kids’ eyes light up when they see him,” Dereume explained. They peer at the tiny furry creature and as we mark this day that holds so much significance for us as Catholics, may we always find God in simple things like rodents such as the groundhog.

Phil did a great job yet again this year keeping the spirit alive of this interesting tradition. If you find yourself in his town, he resides at the city library alongside his wife, Punxsutawney Phyllis, and their two pups named Shadow and Sunny. 

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