Pierre C Shadeaux 2023

“You know what’s funny? Every time Pierre C. Shadeaux pops up, he is probably thinking, ‘Why is everyone watching me? I smell gumbo! I hope they don’t serve nutria rat gumbo!!’,” she stated in an essay posted in the Daily Iberian.

Pierre C. Shadeaux hosts the event instead of a groundhog because, as Chapman said, Acadiana doesn’t need “a Yankee groundhog telling us about south Louisiana weather.”

Last year, the event was held at Pierre’s home in Zoosiana to give him a break from the stress of the day. It’s not easy being the one held responsible for pushing back another hot and humid summer.

The annual event is held early in the morning and now involves an essay contest. The Daily Iberian hosts a contest for students to write an essay about why Pierre is so important. Winners previously receive gift cards to the establishment of their choice.

In 1999, former Daily Iberian publisher Will Chapman started the “Cajun Groundhog prediction,” according to the Daily Iberian. Chapman created the event because he was struggling to find something to write about, according to a Daily Iberian article.

In a typical year Shadeaux, a nutria that goes by Boudreaux most of the year at Zoosiana, would come out of his house and check to C. if his Shadeaux is behind him at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia.

At Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil forecasted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow during the annual spectacle.

Our Cajun Groundhog, also known as a nutria rat, goes by the name of Pierre C. Shadeaux. Instead of Pierre predicting whether there will be more winter or spring, he predicts if we will see a longer spring or shorter summer. This is more fitting for our southern state of Louisiana.Unfortunately, Phil’s predictions are not always accurate. Not to mention that Phil is in Philadelphia. Weather conditions in the northern portion of the country are nowhere near the weather we can expect here in the south, especially in Louisiana, where we sometimes experience winter, spring, and summer within one week.

“One day I saw something coming up about Groundhog Day and thought, ‘What the heck do people in Louisiana care about six more weeks of winter?’ … I just thought, ‘Why are we paying attention to what some Yankee groundhog says?’ That is where the idea came from,” he stated in the article.On this day everyone anxiously waits for the infamous Punxsutawney Phil to leave his burrow. If Phil sees his shadow, then we should expect 6 more weeks of winter weather and if he does not see his shadow, we are set for an early spring.

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“He just flinched! That means he saw his shadow! Oh my goodness! We are going to have a scorching summer,” said this year’s Cajun Groundhog Day marshal. “We’ve come every year for the last nine years we’ve lived here. Its always a lot of fun to see the community involvement and hear the speeches,” says Cassandra Watson, who attended the event with her husband. “Pierre Shadeaux has become a tradition to look forward to in our small town,” says Emma Theriot, who had the first-place speech at the event. Emma says she loves to see the city come together and celebrate.

According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times. Ten years were lost because no records were kept, organizers said.

While Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer, he’s certainly not the only one. New York City’s Staten Island Chuck made his prediction for an early spring during an event Thursday at the Staten Island Zoo. People gathered Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow — and they say he did. According to folklore, if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring comes early. The annual event in Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, originated from a German legend about a furry rodent. The gathering annually attracts thousands.It’s about as strange (and cute) as holidays get. So how did Groundhog Day go from a kooky local tradition to an annual celebration even those of us who don’t worry about winter can find the fun in?

Many sources claim that the original Groundhog Day took place in 1887, when residents of Punxsutawney set out to Gobbler’s Knob, known as Phil’s “official” home, but the first piece of evidence Yoder found of townspeople trusting a groundhog for the weather, a diary entry, was dated 1840. And since Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants mostly arrived in the mid-to-late 18th century, it’s likely that the holiday existed for decades earlier than we have recorded, per the Library of Congress.Part of the reason so many of us know about Groundhog Day is due to the 1993 film of the same name. The phrase “groundhog day” even became shorthand for that déjà vu feeling of reliving the same day over and over. But Punxsutawney Phil became something of a cult celebrity even before the film debuted — he appeared on the “Today” show in 1960, according to the York Daily Record, and visited the White House in 1986. He even charmed Oprah Winfrey, appearing on her show in 1995.

As for his accuracy in weather-predicting — Phil’s hit or miss. He often sees his shadow — 107 times, before this year, per the York Daily Record, which has analyzed every single one of Phil’s official weather predictions since the 19th century. Last year, Phil saw his shadow, which coincided with a huge winter storm. And this year, once again, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter (his 108th such prediction) — fingers crossed that the rest of the season is storm-free.Punxsutawney Phil’s popularity has inspired several imitators: There’s Staten Island Chuck in New York, Pierre C. Shadeaux of Louisiana and Thistle the Whistle-pig of Ohio, to name a few fellow groundhog weather prognosticators. But there’s only one Phil, and he’s the original.

First, though, the February holiday was known as “Candlemas,” a day on which Christians brought candles to church to be blessed — a sign of a source of light and warmth for winter. But like the other three “turning points,” it was still a “weather-important” date that signified a change in the seasons, Yoder wrote.Before he was a celebrity, though, he was lunch. In a terrible twist, the earliest Groundhog Days of the 19th century involved devouring poor Phil after he made his prediction. The year 1887 was the year of the “Groundhog Picnic,” Yoder said. Pennsylvania historian Christopher Davis wrote that locals cooked up groundhog as a “special local dish,” served at the Punxsutawney Elk Lodge, whose members would go on to create the town’s Groundhog Club. Diners were “pleased at how tender” the poor groundhog’s meat was, Davis said.

And when agriculture was the biggest, if not only, industry of the region, predicting the weather became something of a ritual viewed as essential to the health of crops and townsfolk. There was some mysticism attached to the holiday, too, as seen in a poem from 1678 penned by the naturalist John Ray:

Every year, Americans in snowy states wait with bated breath to see whether Punxsutawney Phil will spot his shadow. And every year, we take Phil’s weather forecast — six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? — as gospel, meteorology be damned. Groundhog meat eventually left the menu of Punxsutawney establishments as the townsfolk realized his worth. In the 1960s, Phil got his name, a nod to “King Phillip,” per the Groundhog Club. (The specific King Phillip he was named for is unclear; Mental Flosspointed out that there has not been a King Phillip of Germany, where many Pennsylvania settlers came from, in centuries). Before that, he was simply “Br’er Groundhog.” The holiday evolved over centuries as it was observed by different groups, from the Celts to Germans to the Pennsylvania Dutch and eventually, by those in other parts of the US. Its evolution began in the pre-Christian era of Western Europe, when the Celtic world was the predominant cultural force in the region. In the Celtic year, instead of solstices, there were four dates — similar to the dates we use today to demarcate the seasons — that were the “turning points” of the year. One of them, per Yoder, was February 1.But the early seeds of the Groundhog Day we know today were planted thousands of years ago, according to Dan Yoder, a folklorist “born and raised in the Groundhog Country of Central Pennsylvania” whopenned the definitive history of the folk holiday turned national tradition.

Phil also doesn’t have to spend the offseason alone. He’s married to Phyliss, per the Groundhog Club, who does not receive the same elixir of life and so will not live forever like her groundhog husband. There is no official word on how many wives Phil has outlived through over the years.Despite their early practice of noshing on Phil’s family, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club avers that there has only been one Phil since 1886. He’s given an “elixir of life” every year at the summertime Groundhog Picnic, which “magically gives him seven more years of life,” the club said. (Groundhogs can live up to six years in the wild and up to 14 in captivity, per PBS’ Nature, so do with that what you will.)These turning point dates were so essential to Europeans at the time that they Christianized them when Western Europe widely adopted Christianity. While May 1 became May Day, and November 1 became All Saints’ Day, the February 1 holiday was pushed to the following day — and would eventually become Groundhog Day.

Lea Loftin, marketing and events director for Zoosiana – Zoo of Acadiana, places Pierre C. Shadeaux — a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, into its Groundhog Day enclosure Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.

Rome Simpson, 8, gets up close with Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.

Event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies throws up his hands as he declares that Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, did not see its shadow, Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.

Addison Eskind, 8, pets Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, as Lea Loftin, marketing and events director for Zoosiana – Zoo of Acadiana, holds it Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow this morning, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.Event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies watches as Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, comes out of its Groundhog Day enclosure to check for its shadow, Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days. Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, sits in his Groundhog Day enclosure Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.Lea Loftin, marketing and events director for Zoosiana – Zoo of Acadiana, holds Pierre C. Shadeaux — a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.

Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria known as the Cajun groundhog, checks for his shadow during the annual Groundhog Day celebration Friday at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies.

Iberia Parish President M. Larry Richard reads a proclamation before the Cajun groundhog, a nutria called Pierre C. Shadeaux, is let outside to check for his shadow Friday, February 2, 2018, at Bouligny Plaza in New Iberia, La. Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which was verified by event Grand Marshal Doc Voorhies. According to the Cajun groundhog tradition, if Pierre does not see his shadow, then South Louisiana will have a longer spring and see a slow return of the summer heat. If he had seen his shadow, it would mean a short spring and an early onset of hot summer days.

We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, contact [email protected] or call 337-365-6773.NEW IBERIA, LA (WAFB) – While Punxsutawney Phil is considered the “authority” in predicting the length of winter in the US, Louisiana has its own four-legged forecaster.

Klicken Sie auf „Alle ablehnen“, wenn Sie nicht möchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten für diese zusätzlichen Zwecke verwenden.The northeastern part of the country isn’t the only one to celebrate Groundhog Day. People in Colorado and West Virginia both tune into a different Freddy on Feb. 2, while Wisconsin focuses on Jimmy the Groundhog. Massachusetts has Ms. G, and Illinois looks to Woodstock Willie to deliver the weather report. Michigan has Woody, Georgia salutes General Beauregard Lee, North Carolina watches Sir Walter Wally, and Louisiana prefers Pierre C. Shadeaux. And some states don’t even use a groundhog: Texas turns to an armadillo called Bee Cave Bob, while Oregon trusts a hedgehog named Jabari.

This native New Yorker is a resident of the Staten Island Zoo, and he’s much better at his job than his cousin, Phil. Chuck has an 80% accuracy rate that dates back to 1981, according to his caretakers, who added he’s issued correct guesses for the past 13 years. Elected officials and schoolchildren usually cheer him on when it’s time to make a prediction.That’s because some states and cities have their own local rodent they look to for predicting the weather. While Punxsutawney Phil is definitely the most famous one, he’s not the only animal meteorologist to drop a forecast on Groundhog Day. Here are the other well-known ones.

New Jersey actually has two weatherhogs in different cities, but Milltown Mel died shortly before Groundhod Day in 2022 causing the town to cancel the ceremony that year and again in 2023. Essex Ed is the state’s other resident forecaster, predicting since 1997. Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, where Ed lives, said he also likes to predict who’ll win the Super Bowl each year, but he’s much better at predicting weather. New York also has Buffalo Bert to drop a forecast for the rest of the state beyond New York City. Meanwhile, there’s also a groundhog named Chuck predicting the weather each Feb. 2 in both Ohio and Tennessee. The woodchuck whose been predicting the longest, Punxsutawney Phil has been Pennsylvania’s central furry weatherman since the 1800s. People across the nation and the world tune in to watch him crawl out of his burrow to see his shadow or lack thereof and forecast an early spring or longer weather. But he’s not always right. Overall, Phil has had an accuracy rate of about 40% over the past 135 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Most years, Phil predicts a longer winter.People gathered Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow – and they say he did. According to folklore, if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring comes early.While Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer, he’s certainly not the only one. New York City’s Staten Island Chuck made his prediction for an early spring during an event Thursday at the Staten Island Zoo.

Phil and Chuck made their predictions as a deadly storm system lashed a large swath of the southern U.S. with bands of sleet and snow for a third day on Wednesday. The storm grounded more than 3,300 flights, left hundreds of thousands without power, forced school closures and made already treacherous driving conditions worse.Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog emerged from his burrow on a cold Thursday morning and saw his shadow, declaring there would be six more weeks of winter. Punxsutawney Phil made his prediction as a deadly storm wreaked havoc in the South and the Northeast was bracing for a dangerous Arctic blast.The annual event in Punxsutawney originated from a German legend about a furry rodent. Officials in the community – which is about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh – welcomed a crowd of thousands to this year’s festivities.The three-month temperature outlook for February through April 2023 calls for above normal temperatures across the eastern and southern US and below normal temperatures for the northwestern US, according to the Climate Prediction Center.Scientifically speaking, winter will officially come to an end on the equinox on March 20, regardless of what Phil predicts. But Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the timetable, and neither does Phil.Some of the more colorful names include Pierre C. Shadeaux of Louisiana, General Beauregard Lee of Georgia and Staten Island Chuck from New York – to name just a few. So, if you don’t like Phil’s forecast, chances are one of the other groundhogs will predict something you do like.Phil is not alone in his prognosticating role. In fact, there are many others like him. States including Ohio, North Carolina, New York, Georgia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maryland, West Virginia, and Michigan have their own groundhog weather watchers.

The group waits for Phil to leave his burrow and, legend has it, if he sees his shadow we’re in for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, we get to bask in an early spring.Happy Groundhog Day! While most of the country looks to Punxsutawney Phil to predict either an early spring or six more weeks of winter, Louisiana has it’s own weather forecasting rodent in Pierre C. Shadeaux, a nutria.

The “Punxsutawney Groundhog Club” was founded in 1886 by a group of groundhog hunters, one of whom was the editor of the town’s newspaper and quickly published a proclamation about its local weather prognosticating groundhog (though Phil didn’t get his name until 1961). The first Gobbler’s Knob ceremony took place the next year, and the rest is history.

Blumstein says all animals, not just the prognosticators, deserve respect. While some people consider groundhogs a nuisance because they like to snack on garden produce, he thinks living with urban and suburban wildlife is a good thing as it brings people closer to nature.”So I sort of see the ability to, if you’re fortunate enough to have a groundhog living in your backyard, to sort of pay attention to it and enjoy it and learn from it and maybe give up some of your tomatoes or apples.”

It’s not only groundhogs that are getting in on the fun. Take, for example: Pisgah Pete, a white squirrel in North Carolina, Connecticut’s Scramble the Duck and a beaver at the Oregon Zoo named “Stumpton Fil.”

“That many nationalities being together all in one place to remember something from the medieval past and from a premodern period, and to bring in the music and to bring in the foods and the culture — it’s a real uplifting event,” Harman says.

Germany went a step further by making animals — specifically hedgehogs — part of the proceedings. If a hedgehog saw its shadow, there would be a “second winter” or six more weeks of bad weather, according to German lore.Rory Szwed, left, and Kent Rowan watch the festivities while waiting for Punxsutawney Phil to make his prediction at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., early Thursday morning. Barry Reeger/AP hide caption

Why, then, do we continue looking to creatures for answers on Feb. 2, year after year after year? (One could say it’s almost like the 1993 comedy “Groundhog Day” … or even exactly like that.)

Groundhog handler AJ Derume stands in front of a crowd holding Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow on Thursday to predict a late spring. Michael Swensen/Getty Images hide caption

The ceremony itself — which returned to the stage last year after a COVID-19 hiatus — features dancers, music, speeches and visitors from around the world.He says the thinking was that if there was a high-pressure system in early February, things likely weren’t changing and it would probably continue to be cold, while a low-pressure system suggests the potential for better weather ahead. Plus, if it is sunny out, marmots are theoretically big enough to cast a shadow by standing up.Still, he says there’s a lot humans can learn from groundhogs’ behavior. He runs a long-term project that is about to begin its 62nd year of studying yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado, as a window into longevity and how flexible animals are in responding to a warming climate.Holding onto culture is important, as is embracing new culture, Harman says. He thinks over time there will be “some happy ground” — and that may already be the case in Punxsutawney. “Throughout history, whenever there has been a real strong emphasis on science, its counterpart of intuition, instinct, emotion, imagination — the right side of our brain — pushes back a little bit,” Harman says, explaining that Groundhog Day took off right around the time of the industrial revolution. He says those massive societal and technological changes spurred a desire to return to what people imagined were simpler times, in the form of things like literary romanticism and gothic revival architecture.”And the first celebration that we know of was in the 1880s,” Harman says. “But the idea of watching animals and whether they see their shadow out of hibernation had been going on before that, it just hadn’t turned into a public festival until later in the 19th century.”

On Thursday morning, thousands of early risers either tuned in or bundled up to watch Punxsutawney Phil emerge from a tree stump and predict the weather.”I strongly suspect that the people that go to Gobbler’s Knob are fully aware of the power of science, but at the same time want to hold on to traditions and a deeper vibe,” he says. “There’s the instincts and the intuition and the imagination that every human being has that has to come into balance with logic and reason.”