PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This is the first day of deer season in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Big deal, you say?

Well, perhaps not in the state’s urban areas, but the opening of deer season is such a big deal in most areas of Pennsylvania that it’s called the state’s “unofficial holiday.”

In some parts of the state, schools are closed today.

“A lot of schools, especially in the rural parts of the state, would have difficulty having enough teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, administrators, or janitorial staff to be at the school,” explains Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser.   He says that about 750,000 hunters are expected to trek into woods across Pennsylvania today.

The two-week season is important to helping manage the deer population while also putting venison in the freezer.

Hunters can also donate venison to food banks; information about “Hunters Sharing the Harvest” can be found at the Game Commission’s web site.

Reported by Robin Culverwell, KYW Newsradio 1060