On February 2, Punxatawney Phil saw his own shadow, predicting six more chilly weeks of the winter season. Residing in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, Punxatawney Phil is just another groundhog in the tradition’s long and interesting history.
The tradition has been around for over 130 years with the holiday which is now referred to as “Groundhog Day” first recorded in 1887, in Punxatawney Pennsylvania. The tradition, though Americanized, was first brought to the United States through German immigrants who celebrated Candlemas, a festival used to celebrate and predict weather for the next season.
In German-speaking countries of Europe, Candlemas was marked as Badger Day. On Badger Day, when a badger would leave its den and it saw his shadow, it meant four more weeks of winter. If not, it was predicted that spring would be coming early.
While Punxatawney Phil is not the only groundhog celebrated in this tradition, he is the most notable groundhog of the lot. With six more weeks of winter on the way, the world can only wait and see if his predictions were correct.
