Every Feb. 2, Americans聽celebrate Groundhog Day and eagerly wait to know whether聽the furry animal's forecast. Here are facts about Groundhog Day.
So where does the tradition come from?
, the tradition of Groundhog Day was brought over by German immigrants in the 1700s and has its roots in Candlemas, a holiday celebrated 40 days after Christmas commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the temple. It wasn’t until the 1840s that German immigrants in Pennsylvania started associating the day with the German tradition of using animals聽to predict the weather.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
A rodent by any other name…
Groundhogs are also known as whistle pigs or woodchucks. The name whistle pig comes from their ability to let out high-pitched whistles, according to . But do they chuck wood? The origin of that name is possibly rooted in a word from a Native American language, likely from the Algonquian term for the animal: wuchak.聽
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
It wasn’t always a groundhog.
The Europeans originally used badgers or sometimes bears as their weather forecasters, as both animals hibernate and wake up when the days become longer and the sun’s angle becomes higher,聽.聽
(AP Photo/Amel Emric)
AP Photo/Amel Emric
What’s in a name?
Punxsutawney Phil may be a bit of a mouthful, but that’s not even his full name: Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators.聽
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Everybody loves Phil?
Well, not exactly.聽Groundhogs are big nuisances to farmers, raiding fresh crop growth and creating unstable ground with their extensive borrows.
It wasn’t until 1887 that groundhog Phil brought fame to his little town of聽Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, thanks to the efforts of the town’s newspaper editor聽Clymer H. Freas, who had declared Phil “America鈥檚 official forecasting groundhog,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
How is it known if he sees his shadow?
When Phil comes out of his temperature-controlled, man-made burrow on Gobbler’s Knob on Groundhog Day, he reveals his forecast to the聽president of the Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club. According to the Associated Press, the Inner Circle’s president then announces Phil’s prediction.聽
(AP Photo/The Star, Christopher Mertes)
AP Photo/The Star, Christopher Mertes
How accurate is the shadow?
According to Groundhog Club, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 103 forecasts of long winter and 19 early springs, with nine years of no prediction. 聽Phil’s six-week predictions聽have been correct 39 percent of the time..
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Editor’s Note: This story was first published Feb. 1, 2017.聽
WASHINGTON — It’s not an official holiday, but every Feb. 2, Americans聽celebrate Groundhog Day and eagerly wait to know whether聽the furry animal forecasts聽an early spring or another six weeks of聽cold winter weather.
Everyone knows the story: If the groundhog comes out of his burrow at sunrise and sees his shadow, winter will be around for another six weeks. However, if the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow,聽spring will arrive early.
But here聽are some things聽you may not have聽known about聽Groundhog Day.
If you can’t make it to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see the forecast in person,聽.
Need to fact check Phil by seeing what other forecasting groundhogs predicted? Check out a live stream of Nova Scotia’s聽, or look out for predictions from , , , , and D.C.’s very own stuffed groundhog .
