Don’t put away your cold-weather gear just yet: Punxsutawney Phil just predicted six more weeks of winter.
The famous prognosticating rodent picked the shadow scroll early Wednesday during the annual Groundhog Day ceremony at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania, signaling that Old Man Winter isn’t clearing out anytime soon.
Phil’s loyal fans returned to the rural site after pandemic concerns forced organizers to livestream the annual event last year — during which he called for six more weeks of cold and snow.
The annual ritual in Pennsylvania dates back to 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The tradition grew out of the Feb. 2 holiday of Candlemas in Europe, where Christians would take candles to a church to have them blessed.
A popular English folk song declared that winter will have “another flight” if conditions on Candlemas were fair and bright.
Groundhog Club Inner Circle President Jeff Lundy taps on Punxsutawney Phil’s stump door.REUTERS
Groundhog handler AJ Derume holds Punxsutawney Phil who drew thousands of fans.Getty Images
Wednesday marked the 136th annual Groundhog Day.Getty Images
A crowd of upwards of 5,000 people spent a night of revelry awaiting the sunrise and the groundhog’s exit from his winter den.Getty Images
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil.AP
Groundhog Club Inner Circle Vice President Tom Dunkel holds the scroll with Phil’s forecast of six more weeks of winter.REUTERSThat interpretation ultimately became accepted throughout most of Europe until it reached Germany, where a hedgehog became part of the tradition and a “second winter” would be expected if it saw its shadow on Candlemas.
“As German settlers came to what is now the United States, so too came their traditions and folklore,” Punxsutawney organizers said on its website. “With the absence of hedgehogs in the United States, a similar hibernating animal was chosen.”
A mention of Groundhog Day first appeared in a local Punxsutawney newspaper in 1886. The following year marked the first official event at Gobbler’s Knob, organizers said.
“Today, Groundhog Day remains what it was when the tradition first came to our shores and found its way to Punxsutawney,” the website reads. “A day to take everything a little less seriously, and break up the winter monotony … at least for a little while!”
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