PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA - With much fanfare, on February 2, the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania wake Phil, the groundhog, with a group chant and a tap on his door. This is the 135th celebration of this fun celebration.
Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous furry forecaster, emerges from his burrow each year at Gobblers Knob in western Pennsylvania around 6:30am and predicts six more weeks of winter or an early spring.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this Tuesday morning and, as legend holds, that means six additional weeks of heavy coats and mittens. Phil was awakened at 7:25 a.m. and made his prediction in front of about 16 members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club at Gobbler's Knob.
Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives.
This is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow. If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole. If the day is cloudy and, hence, shadowless, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.
The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.
