Hey Old Man Winter — Hoodie Hoo!
Residents of the Majestic House Apartments in Tamaqua, shout “Hoodie-Hoo” on Thursday, a tradition intended to scare away Old Man Winter and welcome spring just four weeks away. See tnonline.com for a video from the event. DONALD R. SERFASS/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Children participate in a Hoodie-Hoo activity Thursday morning at PathStone Carbon County Head Start in Lehighton to help ward off the winter blues and encourage spring to come. TERRY AHNER/TIMES NEWS
Old Man Winter was given the boot on Thursday in Tamaqua.
And it had nothing to do with the groundhog.
After all, he merely predicts if there will be an early spring.
Instead, the tradition demonstrated at the Majestic House Apartments actually demands it.
The North American Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day took place at noontime, exactly one month from the calendar arrival of spring.
According to the celebration, people are supposed to go outdoors on Feb. 20, wave their hands over their heads and shout “hoodie-hoo” as a way to scare away winter.
It’s a day to express your frustration with cabin fever and acknowledge the fact that spring is right around the corner.
Participants wear colorful clothing or crazy, spectacular hats to battle winter doldrums and put a smile on the faces of each other and those they greet.
On this day of below-freezing air, they repeatedly shouted “hoodie-hoo” to passing motorists. A few truck drivers and others blew their horns to return the greeting.
The idea was started by Ruth and Thomas Roy of Lebanon County in the early 1990s, but nowhere has it been followed more feverishly than in neighboring Schuylkill.
People in towns like Shenandoah, Mahanoy City and Schuylkill Haven celebrate it every year.
In Tamaqua, residents of the Majestic House Apartments typically join in the festivities, as well, although there have been exceptions depending on circumstances, especially in recent years, said organizer Sandy Davis.
“Last year, we didn’t do it because of the snow.”
Facility manager Cheryl Martuscelli also took part. She recognizes the event’s popularity and is happy to be part of it. She said she even saved a news clipping from the 2014 celebration.
Children at PathStone Carbon County Head Start in Lehighton also participated in the tradition to help ward off the winter blues and encourage spring to come.
Most folks seem to agree that winter 2019-20 hasn’t actually been severe in terms of snow or even cold, but it was still dark and gloomy.
And so Hoodie-Hoo Day is there as a reminder that the blossom of spring is only four weeks away.
