The Groundhog Day celebrations of the 1880s were carried out by the Punxsutawney Elks Lodge. The lodge members were the "genesis" of the Groundhog Club formed later, which continued the Groundhog Day tradition. But the lodge started out being interested in the groundhog as a game animal for food. It had started to serve groundhog at the lodge So how did the bizarre tradition of Groundhog Day get its start? We did a little investigating and got to the bottom of Groundhog Day’s history and evolution. Pagans would celebrate February The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The annual ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions and was brought to the U.S. by Settlers from Germany began using the groundhog when they came to the United States as they are more common in the eastern U.S. The Groundhog Day tradition dates back to Germany where a badger Groundhog Day, in the United States and Canada, day (February 2) on which the emergence of the groundhog from its burrow is said to foretell the weather for the following six weeks. The beginning of February, which falls roughly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox , has long been a significant time of the year in many In 1993, the film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularised the use of the term ‘groundhog day’ to mean something that is endlessly repeated.It also popularised the event itself: after the film came out, the crowd at Gobbler’s Knob grew from around 2,000 annual attendees to a staggering 40,000, which is nearly 8 times the population of Punxsutawney. On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.According to tradition, if a groundhog MACON, Ga. — Groundhog Day has been an annual tradition since the very first celebration was held on Feb. 2nd, 1877 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If the groundhog sees its shadow, there is six In the early 1990s, Groundhog Day started to gain some traction across the country, and more people started to learn about small-town Punxsutawney. After Phil was featured in Bill Murray’s 1993 comedy “Groundhog Day,” a movie that gained popularity across the world, the holiday grew to new heights. The tradition of the holiday began with Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers, who brought the legend of Candlemas Day, a Christian holiday that celebrates light over darkness, the Old Farmer’s Almanac said. The legend states, “For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May,” the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club said. Due to a lack of hedgehogs, the settlers began using another hibernating mammal: The groundhog. While the Groundhog Day tradition as we know it today started in 1887, Phil has been making his Groundhog Day is a tradition that has taken place annually in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania since Feb. 2, 1987. A groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is brought out at sunrise to make a prediction on how the remaining winter will play out. Groundhog Day, celebrated every year on February 2, is an unusual holiday that stretches back hundreds of years back to European traditions and even ancient times. How is Groundhog Day Celebrated? Groundhog Day is famously connected to weather prediction, with the most prominent tradition involving a groundhog predicting the conclusion of Updated February 2, 2024 at 8:19 AM ET. On Friday morning, thousands of early risers either tuned in or bundled up to watch Punxsutawney Phil emerge from a tree stump and predict the weather. In Punxsutawney, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper. The following year brought the first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob. Each year since then has seen a steady increase in participation of the celebration from people all over the world. Groundhog Day began as a tiny event and has grown into an American holiday we can all be proud of. Its furry, buck-toothed star, Punxsutawney Phil, has visited the White House and even met Oprah. T o the unfamiliar, Groundhog Day is perhaps one of America’s quirkiest traditions. Every Feb. 2, people wait for a large, furry rodent to see his shadow, and then predict the weather based on Without going into the history of this day, suffice it to say that Feb. 2 became the day Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. Originally, no animals were Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter ahead. Groundhogs may not have a great track record when it comes to weather forecasts, but experts say the tradition sheds light on our culture and environment. Thousands are expected to attend the annual event that exploded in popularity after the 1993 Bill Murray movie, "Groundhog Day." It's part of a tradition rooted in European agricultural life
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.