The verdict is in from Punxsutawney Phil, and it’s going to be spring!
On Friday, better known as Groundhog Day, people from all over the country waited to see what the famous groundhog would see when it came out of its hole. And good news: For the first time in two years, Phil hasn’t seen his shadow, which means he predicts spring will come early. If Phil got up from his lair and didn’t see his shadow, that would mean there was still an extra six weeks of winter weather.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Groundhog Dog’s origins can be traced back to the early holiday of Candlemas (Feb. 2), in which Christians bring their candles to church and have them blessed, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Punxsutawney Phil. Barry Reeger/AP/Shutterstock
Followers of the holiday believe clear skies indicate a longer winter, according to a Pennsylvania tourism website. The Roman legions brought this tradition to the Germanic tribes, who concluded that if the sun appeared on Candlemas Day and a hedgehog cast a shadow, another six weeks of bad weather would follow.
German immigrants brought the tradition to Pennsylvania as early as the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Ground Club, the newspaper announced the first Groundhog Day, and the following year the first official trip to Gobbler’s Farm began—starting a tradition that continues to this day.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-020224-1-ad6a64554b2f4f33965db3b8fd03fb5a.jpg)
AP Photo/Barry Reeger
‘Phil and his inner circle’ will continue their virtual Groundhog Day celebrations despite the weather
Although he is known as a weather forecaster, Phil always gets it wrong. In a comparison between previous US weather forecasts and Phil’s predictions, the groundhog hit the mark only about 40 percent of the time, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
“Even if you flip a coin, you’re still going to be close to half the time,” Tim Roche, a meteorologist at Weather Underground, told LiveScience. “That’s a 50 percent accuracy rate. So you’ll be better off flipping a coin than following groundhog predictions.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-020224-2-308e7418552f48f5919c9706a903eee1.jpg)
Groundhog Club leader AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-predicting groundhog, during the 138th Groundhog Day celebration at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
AP Photo/Barry Reeger
5 burning (digging?) questions about Groundhog Day, answered
But that hasn’t stopped the Punxsutawney community from turning Groundhog Day into a multi-day celebration, with this year’s events including Gobbler’s Knob Got Talent, an open-judged talent show; the annual Groundhog Banquet, where Punxsutawney’s Man and Woman of the Year are announced; lunch with Phil. where Phil fans congregate and meet; and the very popular Groundhog Ball where guests dress up in formal attire.
According to Pennsylvania’s tourism website, the event annually draws about 30,000 visitors to Punxsutawney (whose general population is about 5,700), while millions watch it on television or online.
Groundhog Day is also ingrained in popular culture, most notably with the 1993 comedy classic of the same name starring Bill Murray. On Friday, Harry Caray’s Chicago Tavern is hosting a reunion of several members from Groundhog Day in honor of the film’s late director, Harold Ramis, NBC affiliate WMAQ reported.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education