For real Pennsylvania Dutch, Groundhog Day doesn’t always have to fall on Feb. 2.

While the annual event in Punxsutawney has become legendary, “Grundsow Lodges” in the eastern part of the state have been celebrating on different dates in the spring for more than 50 years.

The events attract hundreds of men from around the area who celebrate the language, German music, and of course traditional Pennsylvania Dutch food.

“It’s a great thing to have all these lodges, to keep this Pennsylvania Dutch dialect going, because it’s slowly fading,” said Lenny Breiner from Palmerton.

Carbon County Lodge No. 11 “Nummer Elfa on Da Fireline,” held its dinner last week. Schuylkill County Lodge No. 8, “Nummer Ochda on Da Lizzard Grick” will hold its later this month. In all there are more than a dozen lodges.

Even though the lodge is made up of mostly Carbon County residents, Polk Township Fire Company hosts the meals. It serves a number of local lodges. The fare is traditional German, served family-style. That includes turkey or beef, sausage, corn, baked beans, tripe, pumpernickel bread, apple butter, cottage cheese and salads. If you have room after that, it’s ice cream with strawberries.

“That’s the nature of the good old Pennsylvania Dutch — hard workers, and you eat good,” Breiner said.

Through the dinner, a German band plays traditional songs.

The dinners are all about preserving the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, including the language. It’s spoken in some area churches, but the number of speakers continues to decline.

Nowadays, the speakers will recite their jokes in German, then in English so that everyone in attendance can understand. The jokes are just a little inappropriate — nothing like Chris Rock or Denis Leary, but they would get you in trouble if you told them in school or church.

Each year they pledge an oath to the lodge. In Dutch, it sounds pretty serious, and the members have their hands raised. But in English, you realize the hands are raised to assume a “groundhog stance” and the rest of the oath isn’t much more serious.

Some members are Pennsylvania Dutch by birth, but they weren’t raised around the language. After the death of his grandfather, who spoke Dutch, Paul Hoppel started attending the dinner with relatives.

“If young people don’t show an interest, it’s just going to fall apart, and people won’t be speaking Pennsylvania Dutch,” he said.

While the average age of the German speakers is going up, there are still plenty of people interested in attending the dinners. Carbon County had over 200 last week. But Breiner said young people would enjoy the fun as well.

“They’re missing a good time,” he said.