As I write this, Groundhog Day is just a few days past. Its coming and going reminded me, once again, how much I hate this so-called holiday. It's silly to dislike a day so much, but I really do. It grates on my nerves a little more every year. When I was a kid, I used to get all excited about it, because there was something neat about a groundhog who could basically predict the future. Now, however, I hate Groundhog day a little more every year, and here are 7 of the reasons why.
Groundhog Day isn't really a holiday at all. It's on the calendar, but whereas I used to be obsessed with keeping an eye on the calendar (to count the days between weekends), these days I just rely on my computer's calender and the one on my cell phone – neither of which have holidays and pseudo holidays marked. So now, every year, February 2 just seems like February 2, until inevitably, a day or two before, I start to hear people begin talking about Punxsutawney Phil.
Speaking of which, like say, a few days before Groundhog Day, I start hearing people discuss Punxsutawney Phil. Buying food for my rabbit at Petco, the lady behind me starts talking to her friend about what it will mean if we get six more weeks of winter weather. At the grocery store, the cashier has an ages long discussion with the woman in front of me, while my ice cream melts into a puddle. I begin to go a little crazy.
Once upon a time, I could get away from this Punxsutawney madness by retreating to the inner sanctum of my home, where talk of groundhogs and their prognostications could be strictly forbidden. Now, however, I get home with my ice cream (which has frozen again into a strange shape because, since the rodent has not yet predicted anything, it is still freezing cold outside, allowing my Rocky Road to solidify on the way home) to discover five different groundhog related discussions on Facebook. They each have 10+ comments.
On the day of, the discussions are nonstop. This year I even had someone call me to ask me what I thought would happen – and although I'd been dealing with the lead up, I still had no idea what she was talking about. She was happy to explain it, though – along with the dozen other close and casual acquaintances who made it the most important topic of the day.
Okay, not everybody takes it seriously, I know that. I know there are curmudgeons out there just like me, ranting and raving and frustrated. But so many people do, and I just don't get it anymore. It's weird, I'll proudly hold up beliefs in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy – but the groundhog? Really?
Everybody who gets all excited about Punxsutawney Phil never gets the whole thing right. They think that it's good if he sees his shadow, and insist that if he doesn't, winter's going to linger for over a month. And with some of them, even when you try to explain it, they get angry and maintain that no! They know everything about Punxsutawney Phil, they're totally right!
Phil is such a liar. I think that his handlers, or Inner Circle, as its known, just read a farmer's almanac, or else pay very close attention to the Weather Channel's monthly weather report. I'd be more than happy if spring really did come early, but I have a prediction of my own, involving about 84,000 more snowstorms in New England, at least.
I think maybe I wouldn't be such a Groundhog Day downer if I didn't hate the cold so much. I can handle snow, but not to the point where it piles up so that it's taller than me. Are there any little holidays that just drive you crazy?
Top Photo Credit: visitPA