The first Groundhog Day celebration in 1887.

On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent
meteorologist, was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s
Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole
on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs
back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter
weather; no shadow means an early spring.

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition
of Candlemas (below) when clergy would bless and distribute
candles needed for winter.       

On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist,was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s
Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition,
if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its
shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting
six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early
spring.

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition
of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and distribute candles
needed for winter.

On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist,was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s
Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to
tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day
and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its
burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no
shadow means an early spring.

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian
tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and
distribute candles needed for winter. The candles
represented how long and cold the winter would be.

Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an
animal—the hedgehog—as a means of predicting
weather. Once they came to America, German settlers
in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they
switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were
plentiful in the Keystone State.

Oddly, if the weather is cloudy and he doesn’t see his shadow,
we can expect warmer temperatures and early spring. Groundhog
Day is a tradition to be cherished. And yes, it is also a 1993 film
starring Bill Murray (below).

Groundhog Day is derived from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition
that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; but if it does not see its shadow
because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.