Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog has seen his shadow and predicted that we will see six more weeks of winter.
February 2 is recognized as Groundhog Day, and in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the borough hosts a celebration featuring Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog, who predicts whether we will see an early spring or an extended winter.
Based on tradition, the groundhog—billed as "the Seer of Seers, the Prognosticator of all Prognosticators"—predicts another six weeks of winter if he sees his shadow behind him. Two scrolls are prepared beforehand, one predicting a long winter and the other predicting an early spring.
Phil the Groundhog is then brought out of his burrow while the Inner Circle gather around. The groundhog is then said to tell the president of the Inner Circle—in a special language called Groundhogese—whether he has seen his shadow or not.
The president will then choose the correct scroll to be read aloud to a crowd, revealing the groundhog's forecast.
Phil made his prediction after being brought out of his burrow at 7:25 a. m. ET on Tuesday. The following message was then read from the scroll: "It is a beautiful morning this I can see,/With all my fans viewing virtually./With my faithful followers being safe and secure,/Our tradition of Groundhog Day must endure.
"We all have passed through the darkness of night,/But now see hope of morning's bright light./When I turn to see, there is a perfect shadow cast of me./Six more weeks of winter there will be!"
Elsewhere, Phoebe the hedgehog also predicted another six weeks of winter at the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester, Connecticut, while New York City's Staten Island Chuck the groundhog went against his rivals and predicted spring.
The Groundhog Day tradition has been a part of Punxsutawney's history since the late 1800s. Punxsutawney, which is around 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, has been celebrating the Groundhog Day event since 1887.
Since the tradition began more than 100 years ago, Phil has predicted winter 106 times and spring 20 times, with the records of ten years of predictions lost.
According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the tradition has its roots in Christianity. On February 2, Christians would take their candles to church to have them blessed in the belief it would bring their household blessings for the remaining winter.
The tradition, which also has ties to Candlemas Day, later evolved to weather prognostication involving animals in Germany, where the the tradition involved a hedgehog.
When German settlers arrived in what is now the U.S., they brought the tradition with them, but due to the lack of hedgehogs, a groundhog was used instead.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
