The Best And Most Important Holiday Is Right Around The Corner

And it’s about a RODENT!

Illustration (and all photographs) by the author.

If you know anything about me, you know one of three things: I revere pie, I collect spatulas, and Groundhog Day is my favorite holiday. And not that you can be right about favorite things, but I am right about this. All other favorite holidays are wrong. Here are the reasons that this is best holiday:

1. It celebrates a rodent, and not something remotely controversial like Jesus or the United States or even a civil hero. Some people hate groundhogs, but very few hate them with fervor. When asked, most people would rank their feelings about groundhogs as, “No Opinion.”
2. It takes place in the beginning of February. This is the worst time of year for most people. There is little salvageable daylight, it’s brutally cold, and the Holidays with a capital H are not distracting everyone from the horrible cold and terrible darkness. February 2 is a full month after the last holiday, New Years Day, which can stretch a little bit as people have resolutions and hopes and dreams. By February 2, though, those have all worn off and everyone is miserable again. That’s exactly when we need a holiday, wouldn’t you agree?
3. The greeting card moguls have not yet ruined Groundhog Day. Depending on who you are, you may feel that Bill Murray has…