Community Corner

How Groundhog Day Came To Be

February 2 is Groundhog Day — but why?

Punxsutawney Phil. Malverne Mel. Shubenacadie Sam.

Famous rodents. Huh? Oh yes, these, of course, are three famous weather-prognosticating groundhogs.

Happy Groundhog Day.

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When the sun rises this morning (or when it rose, which ever tense is present for you), thousands of people gathered outside these rodents' burrows in Punxsutawney, Penn., Malverne, N.Y. and Shubenacadie, N.S. to see whether the animal would see its own shadow to determine if, according to folklore, winter will last for six more weeks.

(Punxsutawney Phil's been searching for his shadow since at least 1886.)

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As legend has it, should a groundhog see its shadow, it’ll retreat back into its burrow to prepare for six more weeks of slumber. If not? Time to put the wool socks away.

(The most popular groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, will be looking for his shadow at 7:20 a.m. this morning. You can see a webcast of the event by clicking here.)

But just how did the holiday start?

“The story of Groundhog Day, begins with Candlemas, an early holiday where candles were blessed and distributed. Celebrators of the holiday eventually declared clear skies on Candlemas meant a longer winter,” Pennsylvania’s tourism website reads. “The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, brought this tradition to the Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or ‘Second Winter.’ German immigrants brought the tradition to Pennsylvania.”

And Punxsutawney — what? Why?

“In 1887, a spirited group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney dubbed themselves ‘The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.’ One member was an editor of Punxsutawney's newspaper,” the site reads. “Using his ink, he proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil, the local groundhog, to be the one and only weather prognosticating groundhog. He issued this proclamation on Candlemas, and yes, Groundhog Day. Phil's fame spread, and newspapers from around the globe began to report his Gobbler's Knob prediction.”

How accurate is the most famous weather-prognosticating rodent? It depends who you ask.

According to the Stormfax Almanac, since 1887, Phil has been correct 39 percent of the time. But The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club states otherwise.

"How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!"

The club also asserts that there's only been one Punxsutawney Phil and he's been making predictions for over 125 years.

"Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the 'elixir of life,' a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life."


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