ABSTRACT
Groundhog Day has been celebrated in Pennsylvania at least since 1841, and continuously since 1886. Annual ritual treks to Gobbler's Knob, the sacred ground where Phil's prophecy is revealed, have been taking place since 1887. Beliefs in the ability of a badger to predict spring were brought to the United States by German immigrants during the eighteenth century, and in the absence of badgers, the beliefs were transferred to the plentiful groundhogs. Since 1967, the National Football League has held the Super Bowl annually to determine the champion professional football team. Super Bowl games have usually taken place in January, but in recent years the football season has edged into February. The unusual coincidence, collision, collusion of Candlemas, Groundhog Day, and the Super Bowl in 2014 highlighted important prophetic moments for groups separated by time and rationale, with diverse origins, audiences, timing, and purposes, yet each grappling with an unknown future.
