20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn’t Know About Groundhog Day

3. Someone Thinks The Groundhog Is Christ Reborn

More religion, inevitably, and a bonkers theory that states that Punxsutawney Phil is pretty much Jesus. So said New York Times film critic Michael Bronski:

"The groundhog is clearly the resurrected Christ, the ever hopeful renewal of life at springtime, at a time of pagan-Christian holidays. And when I say that the groundhog is Jesus, I say that with great respect.''

Despite the supposedly Christian message, it's telling that Phil never actually remembers an after-life, or anything of death really, other than the process of dying itself. So despite the attraction of a groundhog messiah, the film is far more relevant to religions that deal in reincarnation more concretely.