Learn about Groundhog Day in the US
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| Hi everyone, I'm Alisha. |
| Groundhog Day is a fun tradition in the United States. It's not a national holiday and nobody gets a day off, but everybody waits to see whether the groundhog predicts that spring will come early or late. It takes place on February 2nd. |
| Punxsutawney appeared in a popular movie about Groundhog Day. Can you guess what the movie was called? |
| We’ll show you the answer at the end of this video. |
| Groundhog Day comes at the time of year when winter has dragged on for quite a while and when people are ready for spring. Of course, the groundhog really cannot predict whether spring will come early or late, but when he predicts that spring is on its way soon, people are generally much more chipper. |
| Groundhog Day might not be a national holiday, but it's certainly an important and well-known tradition in the United States. Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which is as close to a national capital for the holiday as there is, receives approximately 40,000 people every year who come to celebrate the day. |
| Groundhog Day involves a rather simple tradition. When the groundhog looks out of his burrow, his prediction is based upon his choice to either go back into his burrow or to come out. If the weather is cloudy and he doesn't see his shadow, the legend holds that he'll stay out of his burrow, signaling that spring is on its way soon. If he sees his shadow and goes back into his burrow, it means that there are six more weeks of winter on the way. |
| Groundhog Day is for kicks, and not about being accurate. According to most reputable sources, the accuracy of Punxsutawney Phil or any other groundhog is close enough to and as significant as the accuracy of chance. |
| And now here's the answer to the quiz. |
| Do you know the movie in which Punxsutawney appeared that was about Groundhog Day? |
| Not too surprisingly, the film that featured Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania was called "Groundhog Day", starring Bill Murray. The film's plot centered around Bill Murray's character living the same day over and over again, which happened to be Groundhog Day. |
| How was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting? |
| Had you heard of this holiday before? |
| Please leave a comment at EnglishClass101.com |
| Until next time! |
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