一问到底

       每年的2月2日是北美传统的土拨鼠日，在这一天，冬眠的土拨鼠要醒过来，从洞里出来预测春天。德国移民定居在美国的宾西法尼亚州之后，这个起源于欧洲的盛大节日也被带到北美，每年都有多家电视台直播这一盛况。

       以此节日为主题拍成的同名喜剧电影Groundhog Day曾获得第四十七届英国电影学院奖最佳原著剧本奖。

    Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and the groundhog does not see its own shadow, winter will soon end. On the other hand, if it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, winter will continue for six more weeks. 

    The holiday began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century. It has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. 

    Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerge from its burrow. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty per word spoken.

    The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as high as 40,000 have gathered to celebrate the holiday since at least 1886. 

    Groundhog Day received worldwide attention as a result of the 1993 film of the same name, which was set in Punxsutawney and featured Punxsutawney Phil -- the resident groundhog thought to have made weather prognostications for over 120 years as of 2010. In the movie, an egocentric Pittsburgh TV weatherman finds himself repeating the same day over and over again during a hated assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney. 

    Since then, the phrase “Groundhog Day” has entered common use as a reference to an unpleasant situation that continually repeats.