Punxsutawney Phil, America’s beloved groundhog, popped out of his stump on Gobbler’s Knob on Feb. 2 and failed to see his shadow–predicting that spring will arrive early.
Many gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to await the sight of the groundhog and his shadow, eager to uphold the tradition that began in 1887.
According to the Stormfax Weather Almanac, Punxsutawney Phil has been correct 39 percent of the time which leads many to see this day as a tradition as opposed to a true prediction of the upcoming season.
Hope Branham (11) shared, “I do love spring, although I’ve been kind of enjoying the colder weather recently. The best weather, though, is when it’s sunny, windy and cool. I know we are speaking about seasons but I would rather spring never come because I am worried about AP exams. Flowers are nice, though.”
This tradition derived from the Pennsylvania Dutch belief concerning a badger. The Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants were Germans who celebrated the tradition of Candlemas on Feb. 2. Candlemas was also called “Badger Day” and highlighted the emergence of a badger who predicted four more weeks of winter if it casted a shadow.
The Pennsylvanians attempted to keep up the tradition but changed the four weeks of winter to six and chose a groundhog instead of the original badger.
Phil’s prediction marks the first time since 2020 that he’s predicted an early spring. Prior to this year, he’s had a record of seeing his shadow 107 times and 24 instances of not seeing it.
Rama Ketabchi (11) shared, “I’m actually very excited that we get to experience spring earlier this year, because I’m more into the hot weather and we can finally start going to the beach again. I also love daylight savings because it makes me feel more productive and like I didn’t lose most of my day already when coming from school.”
Ketanchi added, “I think Groundhog day is such a silly way to predict the weather but it’s also fun at the same time and I love how we constantly try to find ways to make life more fun and exciting even if it means having a groundhog predict our weather.”
In 1993, the movie “Groundhog Day” was released, starring Bill Murray and has largely contributed to the excitement of this annual event. This movie has led to more than 30,000 people traveling to Punxsutawney every day to see Phil’s prediction.
Since 1886, the largest crowd was of around 40,000 people who showed to support Phil and marvel in the excitement of his seasonal prediction. In the recent past, this festival has been live-streamed as early as six in the morning; becoming a routine part of the year for many. This year, the gathering was live streamed by The Associated Press, a Youtube channel and on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
Groundhog day is a fun festivity that focuses less on accuracy and more on the long held tradition of a groundhog predicting the duration of winter or the upcoming bloom of spring. Based on Phil’s prediction, 2024 is gearing up for an early spring–but will that be accurate?
