1. The Groundhog Day tradition is a European import brought to United States by German immigrants in the 1700’s. Europeans celebrate the day as Candlemas Day – it was observed in order to predict the length of the winter season – however hedgehogs or badgerswell were used.
2. Unlike many holidays that are celebrated on different dates, Groundhog Day is always celebrated on February 2nd.
3. According to the Groundhog Day legend, groundhogs rise from their burrows on February 2nd after long hibernation and immediately look for their shadows; if they spot their shadow, then then Spring will be delayed by 6 weeks, however if they do not spot it, then the Spring would arrive early.
4. The first ever Groundhog Day was celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in the year 1886.
5. The most notorious of the Groundhogs is “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary” (pictured above). While many other states have their own iconic groundhogs, it is actually Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions that get the most attention. He’s even a movie star, Phil was portrayed in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day (starring Bill Murray) and has actually made an appearance on a Groundhog Day special on The Oprah Winfrey Show 1995. He certainly takes the cake for the most famous Groundhog in the World.
6. The craziest of Phil’s lore is regarding his age, which is about 130 years now. The Groundhog Club claims he is the original since the first Groundhog Day. A “magic potion” is credited for the his longevity.
7. Phil’s legendary status has even earned him loyal email subscribers that can get alerted about his predictions.
8. As you can imagine, the biggest Groundhog Day celebration takes place in Punxsutawney; roughly 20,000 people attend the annual event. Phil’s caretakers, the Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club, carry out the celebrations and can be spotted at the even wearing a very 1800’s outfit – including the top hats.
9. Groundhog’s predictions have long been disputed. While the representatives of the holiday say they are almost always correct, stormfax.com have reported Phil’s predictions to be correct about 39% of the time – almost equivalent to the weather predictions made by actual meteorologists.
