My favorite holiday in elementary school was one that was often overlooked. I lived to go to school on the second day of February — nothing was more exciting to me than celebrating a very large rodent’s weather predictions. Sometimes my class would make groundhog headbands, sometimes we would watch the recording of Punxsutawney Phil making his prediction for the year, and sometimes we would learn fun facts about groundhogs. When I got home from school, my family and I always made groundhog cupcakes, which were an Almond Joy shoved into a cupcake with an attempt of other candy decorations to make it look like Phil.
I think why Groundhog’s Day remains one of my favorite holidays is that it’s one of the only celebrations that haven’t been taken over by consumerism like so many other holidays (cough cough Valentine’s Day). If you celebrate Groundhog’s Day, you are celebrating the mere fact of it, apart from some simple crafts or small treats, there’s no unreasonable expectations on the day. One who celebrates the holiday is simply choosing to make this random day a little bit more special for themselves or whoever they’re celebrating with. There are no expensive presents needing to be purchased, no cool or attractive costume needing to be bought or made and no special bird that needs to be roasted for an egregious amount of hours. Of course other holidays can be celebrated in simpler ways, but they often are not. (I would also make the argument that St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that also doesn’t demand much, besides making you go into your closet to find a green shirt; it was also one of my favorites as a child.)
Even into adulthood, the joy I get from Groundhog’s Day has not changed. It doesn’t demand much of me, and I don’t demand much of it, which is what makes it so beautiful. But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it should be overlooked — try throwing a Groundhog’s Day party this year! Use it as an excuse to make a fun dinner with your significant other while you watch the event! Make bets and stupid consequences on what Phil will predict with your friends!
If you haven’t gotten on the train of celebrating Phil’s momentous prediction before, I hope you’ve gotten my recommendation to try it out this year. Use this holiday as an excuse for connection and a little extra joy in your day, cause that’s what the holiday should be for. (And maybe it will even ease your worries from the pressure of Valentine’s Day.) I know that I for one will be watching the livestream on Feb. 2 anxiously waiting for the results.
Groundhog Cupcake Recipe
- Stick an Almond Joy candy into a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. (If you want to make it even easier, my family always skipped baking the cupcakes from scratch and used Hostess CupCakes.)
- Cut a brown M&M’s in half and stick the two halves on the top of the groundhog’s “body” to make them into ears. Alternatively, you can use mini brown M&M’s and skip the cutting in half step.
- Cut two little buck teeth out of a white jelly bean. (Pro tip: using a sharp knife can make your life a lot easier.) Attach to the face using frosting, honey or something else sticky like peanut butter.
- Cut two white eyes out of the ends of your white jelly bean. Dot a pupil in the middle using black food coloring. (Gel works best as it doesn’t run as much as liquid.) Again, attach to the face using something sticky.
- Add the chubby cheeks to your rodent by attaching mini brown M&M’s to the face area. If you prefer to add blush on the cheeks instead, you may do so by swapping out the mini brown M&M’s for red ones.
- Cut out a downward triangle-shaped nose out of a red gum drop, attach to the face and admire your beautiful creation!
(Note: This recipe gives you a lot of leftover candy, which is one of the best parts!)
