Groundhog Day: Phil Sees Shadow, Predicts 6 More Weeks of Winter

Monday, February 02, 2009

The world’s most famous groundhog has seen his shadow, which — legend has it — means an already long winter will last for six more weeks.

Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast was announced in front of thousands of revelers gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. They gathered Monday morning in near freezing temperatures.

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn’t seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil didn’t see his shadow was in 1999.

The Groundhog Day forecast for the Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, area suggests Phil will have trouble seeing his shadow. The National Weather Service predicts mostly cloudy weather for the area.

Thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, each year for the tradition

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Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day (French: Jour de la marmotte) is an annual holiday celebrated on February 2^[1] in the United States and Canada on which if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.^[2] The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.^[1] The holiday also bears some similarities to the Christian holiday of the Presentation, or Candlemas, which takes place on the same date, the 40th day after Christmas (based on Luke 2:22 following), which has a number of light and darkness images in its observance.^[3] It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic year, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication.^[4]

Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge,^[5] social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g’spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table.^[6]

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as high as 40,000^[7] have gathered to celebrate the holiday since at least 1886.^[8] Other celebrations of note in Pennsylvania take place in Quarryville in Lancaster County,^[9] the Anthracite Region of Schuylkill County,^[10] the Sinnamahoning Valley^[11] and Bucks County.^[12] Outside of Pennsylvania, notable celebrations occur in the Frederick and Hagerstown areas of Maryland,^[13] the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia^[14] and among the Amish populations of over twenty states and Canada.^[14]

Groundhog Day received worldwide attention as a result of the 1993 film of the same name, Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and featured Punxsutawney Phil.^[15]

source: nbcnews.com, wikipedia.org

Tags: february 2, groundhog day, groundhog day in canada, phil the groundhog, punxsutawney pennsylvania, six more weeks of winter