The Tradition & Prediction Behind the Nation’s Most Famous Weatherman — Punxsutawney Phil

Sunday, February 2nd, marked the 139th annual celebration of Groundhog Day. This
historic tradition that is used to predict the weather by observing a groundhog’s shadow, has
Germanic roots linked to the Christian holiday of Candlemas Day. In Germany, badgers were
observed to predict the weather, but upon immigration to the United States, groundhogs began
being used instead of badgers. The Candlemas holiday itself celebrates three occasions according
to Christian belief: the presentation of the child Jesus, when Jesus first entered the temple, and
the Virgin Mary’s purification. But how did this Christian holiday also become the same day as celebrating Groundhog Day?

Early Christians believed that clear skies on Candlemas Day signified that winter would
last for a longer period of time, while cloudy skies meant that the end of winter was near. This
morphing took place due to the combination of Christian tradition, European folklore, and an
introduction of hibernating animals. As mentioned before, badgers were originally used to
predict the weather, but badgers do not hibernate for the winter. Groundhogs on the other hand,
do hibernate during the winter season. As per Germanic tradition, if the badger saw its shadow
on Candlemas Day, then there would be an additional six weeks of winter. German settlers
brought this tradition to America in the 18th century, and the celebration as we know it got
its name from Clymer H. Freas, an editor for the Punxsutawney Spirit Newspaper. In 1886 he
named the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil as the ‘official’ weather forecasting groundhog.

As per tradition, on Groundhog Day, members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
make a pilgrimage to Gobbler’s Knob, Phil’s official home located in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania. Members of the inner circle of this club dress in tuxedos and tophats in order to
supposedly help draw Phil out of his lair. Along with the groundhog’s prediction, a talent show is
put on and a banquet is provided by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Tickets to watch the
event typically cost around $35 as people travel from all over the country to join in on the celebration.

This year also marks the current Phil’s first year as a father! Phil and his partner Phyllis
welcomed twin pups in March of 2024, a girl named Sunny and a boy named Shadow. As a new
groundhog is picked each year to predict the weather, this Phil has become the first prophetic
groundhog to have children since 1886.

This year Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow due to the partly sunny skies, and thus six
more weeks of winter is predicted. He saw his shadow at 7:25 am as a crowd of over 30,000
people sat in the frigid temperature to watch. After a winter season marked by intense snow
storms and freezing temperatures, most are not happy with this prediction. Some might call into
question the accuracy of such predictions, and according to the National Weather Service,
Punxsutawney Phil has only been correct 35% of the time since 2005. While this does not look
good for the poor groundhog’s reputation, this leaves some room for hope for some that the
winter season might just come to an end earlier this year than predicted.

(Featured image source: PBS News)