Haddon Township Sets The Stage For Groundhog Day Feb. 1

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — Haddon Township is holding its own Groundhog Day celebration with Haddon Harry. Groundhog Day at Haddon Square is set for noon to 10 p.m. on Feb. 1. The Mike Lally Band and Goodman Fiske will perform live music, and there will be movie-themed trivia and a costume contest.

There will be heated tents, fire pits and themed beverages, but the centerpiece of the event is Haddon Harry. A human will be dressed in a groundhog costume, and there will be a groundhog stuffed animal on hand, according to nj.com. The crowd will vote on whether it sees the stuffed groundhog’s shadow.

Of course, the traditional story of Groundhog Day is that if the holiday's official groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, sees his shadow, there's six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, spring is coming early. The tradition dates back to 1887.

The official date for Groundhog Day is Feb. 2. Here's what happened last year.

Here are five more things to know about Groundhog Day.

1. Before there was a Groundhog Day, there was Candlemas, an early Christian holiday in which candles were blessed and distributed by local clergy. The celebrants eventually declared that clear skies on Candlemas meant winter would persist. Germans selected an animal — the hedgehog — to predict the end of winter, and brought the idea to America. Groundhogs, which are also known as woodchucks, were plentiful in Pennsylvania, where many Germans settled, so the tradition was Americanized.

2. Punxsutawney Phil has his own "inner circle" — the guys who are always pictured wearing top hats as he emerges. They're a group of local dignitaries charged with planning the festivities and ensuring they come off without a hitch every year, but also with the feeding and care of Phil.

3. Punxsutawney Phil is pretty spoiled. He doesn't have to burrow into the dirt to survive winter like less-famous groundhogs. He lives in a warm terrarium built into the Punxsutawney library and visitors can stop and gawk at him any time they want.

4. Groundhogs have an average lifespan of six to eight years, 10 tops, but Punxsutawney Phil gets a life-extending elixir — called "groundhog punch" — every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic to extend his lifespan by as much as seven years. An added effect of the punch is that it makes Phil appear to have gotten a dye job, because his coat might be gray one year and a youngish-looking brown the next.

5. The 1993 movie "Groundhog Day" gave the celebration in Punxsutawney a big boost. Bill Murray stars as a hapless weatherman named Phil. Dispatched to cover the emergence of the groundhog from its hole, he is caught in a blizzard he didn't predict. Trapped in a time warp, he can't escape and must live the day over and over until he gets it right. Murray went to Punxsutawney in 1992 to prepare for the role, and by 1997, the number of people attending the festivities had swelled to about 35,000 visitors.

Haddon Square is located at 51 Haddon Avenue. For more information, call 856-833-6267 or visit shophaddon.com.