Groundhog Day tradition lives on

By Fabian Mueller Feb 1, 2011, 11:54 GMT

Washington - For 125 years the groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil has been providing a weather prognosis of sorts in a ritual followed every February 2.

Americans know the date as Groundhog Day and that every year the people of Punxsutawney, a town about 100 kilometres northeast of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania, await - and celebrate - the news of whether the little critter has seen his shadow.

If he does, it scares him back into his den and winter will continue for another six weeks. If he doesn't see his shadow, it indicates that winter will be over sooner.

This winter the people of Punxatawney and many other parts of the US have been shivering. So hopes that the rodent will predict a short winder are high. In any case, it will be the 125th time the people of the town have checked on the animal's early morning reaction.

Punxsutawney Phil, inspiration for the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, is a true star in North America. Tens of thousands of people go to the small town of Punxsutawney every year to witness his prediction live, and millions more see it on TV - all eager to know how much longer the cold will last.

The ceremony is the same every year, and although Phil isn't an educated meteorologist, he counts as a 'natural' talent. The event starts even before dawn when a group of 15 men in top hats and thousands of spectators gather at Gobbler's Knob.

The rodent is taken out of his nest in a tree stump at 7:30 am (11:30 GMT) somewhat rudely when the head of the group knocks on the stump.

If the sun is shining, Phil sees his shadow and it scares him back into his quarters. This predicts six more weeks of winter.

If he doesn't see his shadow due to clouds, then the crowd breaks into jubilation because it means spring is near. In fact the crowd will celebrate no matter what Phil's prediction is.

On ordinary days, Phil lives with his mate Phyllis at the town library. More than 30,000 visitors are expected to attend this year's event, more than five times the town's population.

The origins of Groundhog Day go back to the Germans who settled the area. Researchers believe that the customs of the Christian immigrants mixed with those of the non-Christian natives of the region. The Christian settlers believed that groundhogs awakened from their hibernation on Candlemas, exactly 40 days after Christmas - February 2. This might have collided with some ancient traditions that dealt with marking the change of the season.

Punxsutawny Phil could be the best one to tell the story about the origins of Groundhog Day. The organizers of the event swear that the same animal has been making the predictions over the years. But when it comes to this heart-warming tradition, who would dare point out that a groundhog does not live much longer than 10 years.

The groundhog that on February 2 will predict how much longer winter will last is over 125 years old, according to organizers. But despite his advanced age, he is up on the current digital media.

Since last year it has been possible to receive his prognosis immediately on a cell phone. And Punxsutawny Phil is, of course, on Facebook. He has almost 10,000 fans there. In the real world he clearly has many, many more.

Whether Phil's prognosis is correct is a completely different thing. It is never entirely right and never entirely wrong. That's because his prediction isn't tied to particular location. Somewhere in the US it will most certainly start feeling like spring if he doesn't see his shadow and conversely, somewhere it will continue being winter if he does.

Thus, Punxsutawny Phil for good reason quotes the lyrics of pop star George Michael on his website with the words: 'You gotta have faith.'