Pennysylvania, in the U.S. has a strange custom. On February 2, thousands of people gather at Gobbler’s Knob, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania which is 104 km north east of Pittsburgh, to get the spring weather forecast. It’s not an announcement made by a person though.
Hold your breath...it’s the forecast from a groundhog, and it is known as Punxsutawney Phil!
On February 2, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his home — a simulated tree trunk and looks for his shadow, which will help him make his much-anticipated forecast. If he sees his shadow, then, the U.S. will have six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, the country can expect warmer temperatures and an early spring.
ADVERTISEMENT
The legend for Groundhog Day, as it is called, goes back to an ancient celebration that took place midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This falls right in the middle of winter. The ancients believed that sunny skies on that day meant a cold second half of winter, while cloudy skies indicated the arrival of warm weather.
Groundhog Day is a traditional holiday celebrated in the U.S. and Canada. The tradition began with the German community in the Pennsylvania, U.S.
ADVERTISEMENT
So how did Punxsutawney Phil figure in this ancient ritual? The entry of Punxsutawney Phil is not as old. The creation of Phil, the hairiest meteorologist in the world, goes that Clymer H. Freas, the city editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit, a local newspaper was inpsired by a group of local groundhog hunters. He dubbed them the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. In 1887, he christened the groundhog Phil, making him America’s official forecaster. Freas, carried Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction year after year and slowly the other newspapers began to pick it up. It did not take long for the country to look forward to Phil’s prediction of the much awaited spring.
Records since 1887 show that Phil has now predicted just 18 early spring, and almost 10 times the number of continued winter.
Phil is well cared of through the year. He has a group of tuxedo-wearing people called the Inner Circle who ensure his well-being.
This year, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter!