The biennial event is expected to attract hundreds of people. It achieved huge popularity after the 1993 Bill Murray film “Groundhog Day.”
Punxsutawney Phil’s caretakers will announce whether or not the groundhog saw his own shadow and predict either an early spring or six more weeks of winter on Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania early on Friday morning.
This tradition, which originates from farming life in Europe, signifies the midpoint between the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the spring equinox. It is also a season that appears in the Celtic calendar and the Christian celebration of Candlemas.
The Celtic people of Europe refer to the four days that fall between the winter, spring, summer, and fall equinoxes as the midwinter solstices. Around what the Celts termed Imbolc, Christians celebrate Candlemas, which is connected to Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus at the Jerusalem Temple, as reported by AP.
Historically, people have been able to forecast the weather by observing the sun, stars, and movements of animals. Similar German customs involving badgers or bears are where the idea of use an animal’s springtime awakening from winter hibernation to forecast the weather started.
It appears that the groundhog, which is indigenous to the eastern and midwestern parts of the United States, was supplanted by Pennsylvania Germans.
