Groundhog Day is an annual holiday that occurs on February 2 and is popular in North America. On this day, spectators watch a groundhog also known as a woodchuck, or marmot, leave its burrow. Tradition holds that if the groundhog glimpses its own shadow, there will be six additional weeks of winter. If the creature does not view its shadow, spring will come early that year. While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.
Groundhog Day has its roots in pre-Christian traditions and the historical Christian holiday of Candlemas (a blessing of candles), which falls halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. An old English folk song explains the tradition:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
When the German-speaking Pennsylvania Dutch migrated to the United States from Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought a tradition of predicting weather on Candlemas based on signs from badgers and bears. The Pennsylvania Dutch relied on the available groundhogs to prognosticate.
Punxsutawney Phil is a weather-predicting groundhog in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the first North American Ground hog Day observance was started in 1886 by the editor of the local newspaper editor, Clymer Freas. The town invited visitors the next year to observe the ceremony, and it has continued each year since.
The modern event, held at a natural amphitheater in a field called Gobbler's Knob brings over a million dollars to the local economy. The celebration begins on January 31st and includes breakfasts, dinners, a talent show, banquets, music events, and a Groundhog Ball
The groundhog was originally named called "Br'er Groundhog". He was officially named Phil in 1961, probably after Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth's husband. When not predicting the weather or making the rounds of celebrity visits, the current Phil and his wife, Phyllis, reside in "Phil's Burrow", a warm terrarium built into the Punxsutawney library. The wall that faces the outside is made of glass, so visitors can pay their respects at any time.
The 12 members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle (who sport top hats and tuxedos) take care of Phil (and Phyllis) for the entire year, and plan each year's big ceremony in Punxsutawney, PA. Phil communicates his shadow-finding prediction in a special Groundhogese language to the Inner Circle President, who then announces it to the world.
A record of his findings shows that his shadow-based predictions have only been right about 64.4 percent of the time. But don't blame Phil for the misses! According to the club, "… Phil's never wrong. Phil's prediction is 100 percent correct, and we blame the variants on the president's interpretation of Phil's prediction."
Good Luck Phil, we hope you awake to to a less than sunny day on Groundhog Day and assure us a short Winter!