Groundhog Day, celebrated annually on Feb. 2, has not always been about using a groundhog shadow to predict the next six weeks of weather. It originated as the Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day, where Christians would take candles to the church to have them blessed. They believed that this action would bring blessings to their households for the remaining winter.
According to groundhogday.org, German settlers came to the United States, and their traditions and folklore imprinted themselves into the existing ones. In their culture, if a hedgehog saw its shadow on Feb. 2, there would be a “second winter” or six more weeks of harsh weather. Since there was an absence of hedgehogs in America, a similar hibernating animal was chosen – the groundhog. The city of Punxsutawney, PA, believed in the impossible, and since 1887 has gathered in Gobbler’s Knob to share joy, laughter, and the anticipation of seeing what their mysterious groundhog will predict for the following six weeks.
This groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil, and his entire job is to come out once a year to predict the weather with his shadow. The tradition of Groundhog Day became such a national sensation as people all over fell in love with this small-town spectacle that Punxsutawney Phil became a household name. Though there have been multiple Phils, the legacy of Phil has lived for more than 135 years. However, there is a theory floating around that there is a secret “elixir of life” the famous rodent drinks in the summer that grants him an extraordinarily long life.
Besides the prediction of Phil, the festivities of Groundhog Day start hours before dawn. Tens of thousands of visitors gather in Punxsutawney to celebrate Pennsylvania’s heritage and transform the small town into a lively winter gathering place. Some events for 2026 include community parades across PA and Groundhog Day Attractions such as statues, a Weather Discovery Center and the opportunity to visit Phil’s burrow and PA Wilds region. The reasoning for these attractions and festivities is to get to know the town and its heritage. They allow visitors to learn more about Groundhog Day itself and why it is so important to this small town. Those who celebrate at home might do crafts, such as making “Phil’s Forecast” signs, or have a cozy Groundhog Movie Night watching the 1993 comedy/romance movie “Groundhog Day.” These are just some ideas from Visit PA about how to get people involved that are not in Punxsutawney. Of course, there are always more things to do on this holiday, but hopefully these are a few ideas to get people started.
The biggest question surrounding this holiday is how accurate Phil is. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he hovers between 35% and 40% correct on his predictions. When the same question was posed to students at NW, comments were given by Mark Gisondi, who lives 4 ½ hours from Punxsutawney, PA. Gisondi firmly believes that Phil isn’t always accurate. This is due to the fact that for the last 20 years Gisondi has been alive, he was only accurate 50% of the time.
He also stated that, because of this, he does not think that using a groundhog to predict the weather is a great idea. “With a track record like that, how can I trust a groundhog with the weather…on the contrary, Punxsutawney Phil is sometimes more accurate than the local meteorologist.”
Whether or not people believe in Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions, that does not stop visitors from making the trip and others from tuning into TV and radio stations to see what he says. Punxsutawney, PA has a population of about 6,200 the rest of the year, but around Groundhog Day, the population can swell from 30,000 to over 50,000 for the weekend. That is over a 700% increase. In addition, millions around the world will tune into livestreams via streaming services, Fox News and YouTube. At the time of this article’s writing, the Old Farmer’s Almanac and other forecasts predict a cloud cover, which will limit the groundhog’s chances of seeing his shadow to less than 50%. To all the spring lovers out there, this is a good thing, as this may lead to an early spring season for 2026.
