If asked to begin naming holidays, Groundhog Day wouldn’t be the first holiday to come to mind. That is, except when asking the citizens of Punxustawney, Pennsylvania.

On February 2, this small town will play host to Groundhog Day for the 115th time. Since 1887 the groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil has come out of his burrow to make weather predictions, making Phil one of this nation’s first weather prognosticators.

People gather from all across the country at Gobbler’s Knob–a wooded knoll outside of Punxsutawney–to find out whether spring is just around the corner, or if six more weeks of winter are on the way. Last year close to 12,000 people were at Gobbler’s Knob to watch Phil make his prediction in almost four inches of snow.

On this day Phil comes out of a electrically heated burrow after winter hibernation to look for his shadow. Should Phil see his shadow that means six more weeks of winter weather is on the way. But should he fail to see his shadow means spring is just around the corner. Coincidentally, if bad weather is on the way Phil will go back into his hole, if spring is on the way Phil will stay outdoors.

Sounds silly, right? How did people ever start believing in something like this?

Groundhog Day is thought to be linked to an old European belief involving Christianity. February 2 is Candlemas Day, which celebrates the purification of the Virgin Mary, and if it were sunny that day, individuals who practiced Christianity believed winter would remain another six weeks.

Groundhog day is thought to have been brought to the United States by German settlers during the eighteenth century. The Germans believed if the groundhog saw his shadow on Candlemas Day then winter would last another six weeks.

During the late eighteen hundreds Groundhog day was made popular by newspaper editor Clymer H. Freas and W. Smith, an American congressman and newspaper editor. These two men organized the first Groundhog Day, which was actually held in secret until 1966.

While there is no real evidence to support the accuracy of the groundhog’s prediction, it is an event that has none the less maintained popularity over the years. To date Phil has seen his shadow ninety one times, failed to see his shadow fourteen times, and on nine different occasions a decision could not be rendered.

For Punxsutawney, Groundhog Day has brought attention to a small town that would otherwise receive little attention at all. Groundhog Day has turned into a party that begins almost a week before the actual day. College students from across the east coast flock to this little town for a weekend of fun.

From a commercial standpoint Groundhog Day is an enormous benefit to this small Pennsylvania town. In 1993 even more attention was garnered by Punxsutawney when the movie “Groundhog Day,” starring comedian Bill Murray, was released. In fact since the release of the movie in 1993 crowds at Gobblers Knob have at times been as high as thirty thousand people.

Some of Phil’s noteworthy highlights include traveling to Washington D.C. in 1986 to meet then President Reagan, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995, and having his forecast shown live on the JumboTron in Times Square, New York city.

All pretty amazing considering Phil is not even a very good weather forecaster.

Can’t get enough groundhog? Check out these links.

  • www.groundhogs.com – The official site of Groundhogs Day
  • www.groundhog.org – The official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
  • www.punsutawneyphil.com – great site for learning more about the host city of this great American tradition