Groundhog Day has always been the neglected holiday. But why?
Is it because Groundhog Day jumps in right after the crush of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years?
Is Groundhog Day overshadowed (there’s a pun there somewhere) by the Super Bowl and the preceding festivities and media blitz?
Is it because Groundhog Day falls about halfway through a long winter?
Is it because Groundhog Day starts off a month that seems to boast one too many letter Rs and doesn’t have enough days to be a real month?
Is it because the groundhog is a glorified rat? Or because it’s fat?
Whatever the reason, Groundhog Day deserves much more attention and definitely much more celebration. Yes, of course, there’s the Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day, but a movie, even a really funny one, isn’t enough.
We need Groundhog Day sales at stores, Groundhog Day groundhog costumes, Groundhog Day parades, Groundhog Day decorations (groundhog-shaped strings of lights, window clings, stickers, buttons, hats, shirts, posters, and furry brown Groundhog Day garland), Groundhog Day greeting cards, a tradition of wearing brown on Groundhog Day (like wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day), Groundhog Day parties, traditional Groundhog Day food, drinks, desserts, Groundhog shaped sugar cookies, and finally, of course, the cherished family tradition where moms and dads everywhere, on Groundhog Day Eve, dress up in their groundhog costume, drink the traditional Groundhog Day drink, dig a hole in the backyard, climb in, and just after sunrise, with the whole family gathered around, jump out and decide whether they see their shadow or not. (A note to moms and dads in colder climates: you may want to take several servings of your Groundhog Day drink with you in the hole and/or dress in layers. It’s gonna be a long, cold night.) If there are 6 more weeks of winter, then the family has a breakfast of cold cereal and milk. If winter will end soon, then let the Groundhog Day hot breakfast feast begin!
Yes, I’ll admit it… Groundhog Day took me by surprise this year again. But I won’t let that happen next year.
Groundhog Day 2011 is the beginning of something big. And brown. And fun.
