Groundhog Day’s surprising 3000-year-old origins

oldbrownhat

oldbrownhat

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The US tradition of the groundhog Punxutawney Phil emerging on 2 February to herald spring has fascinating origins – and creature parallels across Europe.

BBC article here.
...In Northern Italy, the final three days of January are known as "the days of the female blackbird" (I giorni della Merla). According to a rural archaic legend, the blackbird was once white (and beautiful and arrogant), and she told January that she didn't suffer the cold. So January sent her extra harsh days...​
 
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I awoke at 0200 this morning and stumbled into the reloading room. On a shelf above my loading bench reside a inexpensive badge, it is an International NO emblazoned on a Ground Hog! I affixed the badge to my night shirt. I am now prepared for whatever February 2nd brings! I have done this every February 2nd since 1985 when a now long-gone gun shop in Gahanna, Ohio sold these badges for $1.

In my research, I found out the reason ground hogs come out at this time of year. The true reason is ROMANCE. The males awake with the need to breed burning within them and come out looking for female company: "They go a courting!" Since the females (we call them Sows in our neighborhood) will still be hibernating for the next month or so, they are always willing!

A ground hogs in the course of a growing season can by themselves rob a farmer of 50 bushels of soybeans! As well as other crops and the grasses in a pasture. They are rodents and literally breed like rabbits! The dig burrows that can undermine barns and houses. They are a huge potential for financial disaster! By whatever legal means you can, Shoot on sight!

May you find your marmots in the mortuary!

Ivan
 
Go Ivan! The thing that used to really perturb me about whistle pigs, when I had a home garden in Ohio, was they would wait till the veggies were almost perfectly ripe, and then raid the night before you were ready to pick. They are good tree climbers but I have never seen how they climb down. The young ones are pretty good eating when slow cooked, much like pork
 
Heinz said:
Go Ivan! The thing that used to really perturb me about whistle pigs, when I had a home garden in Ohio, was they would wait till the veggies were almost perfectly ripe, and then raid the night before you were ready to pick. They are good tree climbers but I have never seen how they climb down. The young ones are pretty good eating when slow cooked, much like pork
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That just shows that groundhogs have good taste.
 
In preparation for Groundhog Day in 1997, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club commissioned the Smith & Wesson Custom Shop to produce a Punxsutawney Phil Commemorative Model 629. It's special features include an engraving of Punxsutawney Phil on the side plate, the date February 2, 1997 on the underlug, and the words "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" in script on the barrel, which necessitated the use of the 8 3/8 inch barrel. The finish is bright stainless and the gun comes in a beautiful engraved wooden box. Only 41 of these were made.
 

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I always thought the whole Groundhog Day thing was silly . Another excuse to dress up funny and drink ..
 
Heinz said:
Go Ivan! The thing that used to really perturb me about whistle pigs, when I had a home garden in Ohio, was they would wait till the veggies were almost perfectly ripe, and then raid the night before you were ready to pick. They are good tree climbers but I have never seen how they climb down. The young ones are pretty good eating when slow cooked, much like pork
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While in our family's woods in Spring of 1988 with my oldest 2 sons (at ages 9 and 7), we were scouting a good Memorial Day camping spot. I heard a racket in the tree limbs and a ground hog, was leaping from tree to tree. For every horizontal foot he would fall two feet vertically! The last leap was a 18" dead tree about 6 feet from his last perch. He hit the tree and the bark he hoped to hold on to came off... along with him! He fell about 20 to 25 feet and landed with a graceful thud! He picked himself up and shook himself and looked at us with a "What the heck happened?" look and dove in a nearby hole. That's how ground hogs, woodchucks, or whistle pigs climb out of a tree, at least the only one I ever saw!

That area where it happened is a wide ledge on a steep hillside, The boys and camped there the year before, however the area is too lumpy for any tent bigger than a pup tent. My brother and I were after a ground hog in the Summer of 1967 and spent all day at the same spot trying to dig that a hog out! The two dogs and us each took turns. After several hours we were close enough to use our weapon! It was one of those 18" long Arisaka bayonets! We stuck him a time or two and he decided to come out and fight! Dumb move, the dogs took him out in a minute or two. We were too tired to fill in the trenches we had dug! And in hindsight I'd say we did more damage than that ground hog ever did!

That was just one of the ways country boys stayed out of trouble, until my brother discovered girls! And most girls don't like ground hog hunting, so my brother to a 15-year break. I went through that phase too but it only lasted 2 years, until I found a girl that appreciated the joys of a dead ground hog! I've kept her and had the next generation of ground hog destroyers! At age 15, number 3 son killed 4 ground hogs in the Summer of 1999, without the use of a gun or dog! He would run them down and smash them with rocks. (scarry kid!)

Ivan
 
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djohns6 said:
I always thought the whole Groundhog Day thing was silly . Another excuse to dress up funny and drink ..
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That would be like golf, too!
I've always thought the celebration up there was silly, but that's their big claim of fame. PITA is trying to stop this annual celebration, but that groundhog probably eats better than me.
 
Golddollar said:
In preparation for Groundhog Day in 1997, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club commissioned the Smith & Wesson Custom Shop to produce a Punxsutawney Phil Commemorative Model 629.... Only 41 of these were made.
Click to expand...
Well, that would answer the inevitable question about "What's the best caliber for groundhog?" Clearly not .44 mag.
 
Golddollar said:
In preparation for Groundhog Day in 1997, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club commissioned the Smith & Wesson Custom Shop to produce a Punxsutawney Phil Commemorative Model 629. It's special features include an engraving of Punxsutawney Phil on the side plate, the date February 2, 1997 on the underlug, and the words "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" in script on the barrel, which necessitated the use of the 8 3/8 in barrel. The finish is bright stainless and the gun comes in a beautiful engraved wooden box. Only 41 of these were made.
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Although flashy, I think a commemorative Remington in 22-250 would have been more appropriate. :D
 
I remember well the first woodchuck I shot. I was about 6 yrs old and squirrel hunting with my dad. We were in the woods about 30-40 yds from field edge. My dad spotted a Chuck and handed me my Winchester .22. It was mine but I wasn't aloud to carry it yet. As I took a rest off side of a tree I remember him saying " gotta shoot him in the head with a .22 or he might make it back to his hole".
 
Bald1 said:
I remember well the first woodchuck I shot. I was about 6 yrs old and squirrel hunting with my dad. We were in the woods about 30-40 yds from field edge. My dad spotted a Chuck and handed me my Winchester .22. It was mine but I wasn't aloud to carry it yet. As I took a rest off side of a tree I remember him saying " gotta shoot him in the head with a .22 or he might make it back to his hole".
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Dad & I ended up belly-shooting them so they'd go down their hole & die there. The turkey vultures loved the free meal from a head shot, though.
 
Golddollar said:
In preparation for Groundhog Day in 1997, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club commissioned the Smith & Wesson Custom Shop to produce a Punxsutawney Phil Commemorative Model 629. It's special features include an engraving of Punxsutawney Phil on the side plate, the date February 2, 1997 on the underlug, and the words "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" in script on the barrel, which necessitated the use of the 8 3/8 in barrel. The finish is bright stainless and the gun comes in a beautiful engraved wooden box. Only 41 of these were made.
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Looks to me like a great way to greet Ol' Phil! :D
 
Why do we celebrate Groundhog Day? Groundhog Day, February 2, is a "cross-quarter day". Our ancestors divided the year into four quarters. They were using the 2 solstices and the two equinoxes. These days were marked by significant solar events. They then began the various seasons around the cross-quarter day, halfway between the equinox and solstice.
Feb 2, Candlemas was the beginning of spring
May 1, May Day, the beginning of Summer
August 1, Lammas, was the beginning of Fall
October 31, Halloween, was the beginning of winter.

The Roman Catholic Universities dispensed with those pagan ideas, dumped the cross-quarter days, and highjacked the Winter and Spring Solstice for Christmas and Easter. Easter is a little strange because it is the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring so it can be a touch off of may day but a pagan approach.
The BBC article cited by the OP is a very shallow human interest approach typical of the media
 
Back in the mountains of Va. a long time friend had a farm with a mountain, we hunted there and really good hunts. Next door was another farm owned by this older guy that we hunted also. He asked us to " keep the groundhogs down". We both bought 17s and started wiping them out, 17 does a job on them. This other farm had cows and the reason was cows often fell and broke their leg(s)in hog holes. Friend let the farmer put his cows on the hunt club land to change pastures. One afternoon we were all sitting under the back porch looking across the field towards the base of the mountain when what popped up but a groundhog. We had already put our rifles in our trucks so only had LW Commander. I had to try the shot. Rested Colt of a tall table and put hog on top of front sight and squeezed. 185 grn JHP handload wiped out the hog. The old farmer looked at me and said," quess I know why you guys shoot so much" ,LOL. Stepped it off and was just over 100 yards. We always shot all types of pistols at distance, lot of fun.
 
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