Here is what you need to know about Groundhog Day: the day dedicated to a weather-predicting rodent. While the Groundhog Day tradition as we know it today started in 1887, Phil has been making Groundhog Day has been celebrated in the United States since at least February 2, 1886. Starting in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with its now-famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, the tradition spread throughout America. The observance of Groundhog Day in the United States first occurred in German communities in Pennsylvania, according to known records. The earliest mention of Groundhog Day is an entry on February 2, 1840, in the diary of James L. Morris of Morgantown, in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, according to the book on the subject by Don Yoder. This was a 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 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 The origins of Groundhog Day date back to German settlers in the 1800s and the celebration of the Christian festival of Candlemas, held on Feb. 2. Candlemas is the midpoint between the Winter The surprising history of Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil's rise to fame goes back thousands of years. April Fools’ Day: How Did It Start, and Why Is It April 1? 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 The "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" was founded in 1886 by a group of groundhog hunters, one of whom was the editor of the town's newspaper and quickly published a proclamation about its local The Birth of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney. The first recorded Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2nd, 1886, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by local newspaper editor Clymer Freas and a group of businessmen and groundhog hunters known as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. How did Groundhog Day start? According to the Library of Congress , Groundhog Day traces its history back to an 1840 diary entry by an unnamed Welsh-American storekeeper in Pennsylvania. The Groundhog Day celebration at Gobbler's Knob started in 1887. Aside from a 10-year gap, records for each prognostication have been meticulously kept. PUNXSUTAWNEY, Penn. - Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the Mecca for those around the country celebrating Groundhog Day. Every year, on Feb. 2, tens of thousands of people flock to this small town of less than 6,000 people some 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to see whether the town's rodent Maria Pfister, left, and Liz Alvey, with the Pringle Nature Center, bring out Bristol Bob for his 2023 Groundhog Day winter prediction. This year's program is Sunday, Feb. 2. What Groundhog Day is like today. Since then, the tradition has grown in popularity, boosted by Bill Murray’s 1993 hit movie Groundhog Day, with many other cities across the country holding Temperatures will start out cold with a low of 44 degrees, but things will quickly heat up and reach the high temperature of 66. The morning should be sunny, which may mean more chance of shadows Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil during the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger) Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2, each year. ↑ South Bruce Peninsula, "How the Festival Started." Will the Groundhog See His Shadow in 2025? According to our weather predictions, February 2, 2025, will bring snow showers and cold weather. We think that when Punxsutawney Phil—that Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Weather Prognosticator Extraordinary— emerges from his burrow (with a little help from his handlers) to make his much-anticipated forecast, he will NOT see his shadow, which Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, is coming up, and soon Punxsutawney Phil will tell us what to expect from the weeks to come. The holiday dates back hundreds of years, and has grown to be a widely
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