Groundhog Day 2025
As a child I loved animals. From dogs, to frogs, to polar bears, and everything in between. The first time I remember hearing about Groundhog Day was in first or second grade. My ears perked up when my teacher mentioned a holiday named after a cute, furry creature. I am sure we spent the day talking about this holiday and maybe coloring in a picture of a groundhog or some other such engaging activity for a six-year-old. Fast forward several years- I still love animals, and I still find it fascinating that there is an entire day devoted to the efficacy of a rodent predicting the weather. Sure, most people see this as a silly day and it may even elicit eyerolls from some, but like it or not, Groundhog Day is a pretty big deal to a lot of people- especially those who live in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania- home to Punxsutawney Phil, the official mascot of Groundhog Day.
So, what exactly is Groundhog Day, and why do the people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania celebrate it with such gusto? Groundhog Day as we know it in 2025, simply put, is the superstitious belief that if Punxsutawney Phil, emerges from hibernation from his burrow on February 2nd and sees his shadow, he will return to his den and winter will go on for six more weeks. However, if when he comes out he does not see his shadow, spring will arrive early.
Modern day Groundhog Day is based off of the Catholic holiday of Candlemas which also falls on February 2nd. During the tradition of Candlemas, clergy would hand out candles they had blessed to those needing them for winter. These candles represented how long and how cold the winter would be. The Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal that would be a means of predicting the weather. Hedgehogs were prevalent in Germany, and thus they were the chosen ones. When German settlers first came to Pennsylvania, hedgehogs were not quite as common, so instead they chose the groundhog to become their weather predictors. Seems logical enough.
The very first official Groundhog Day celebrated in the United States was February 2nd, 1887 and was so dubbed by Clymer H. Freas, who was the editor of the local newspaper in Punxsutawney as well as a member of a groundhog hunting club in the town. While hunting for groundhogs one cold February morning, Clymer caught one and named it Phil. In an article that day in his paper, he claimed that “Punxsutawney Phil” could forecast the weather. From this first year, the groundhog’s fame spread across the country, and each year the holiday became bigger and more well known, especially in the town of Punxsutawney.
Punxsutawney, which is located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, has a year-round population of approximately 5,600 people which makes it smaller than Petoskey. However, much like the crowds of people who flock to Petoskey in the summertime, in recent years, tens of thousands of people converge on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania each February 2 to witness Phil’s prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities. Last year’s attendance was close to 35,000. The culmination of the celebration occurs early in the morning on February 2nd. The day begins at 6:30 a.m. with fireworks, and then at approximately 7:30 a.m., a group of men dressed in black suits and top hats known as The Inner Circle assist Phil’s emergence from his burrow so that we can find out our fate for the next six weeks.
I will leave you with a couple of interesting facts about Groundhog Day:
- Though early February still feels far from spring, it actually marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox.
- In the almost 130 years that Punxsutawney Phil has been predicting how many more weeks of winter there are left, he has been correct 39% of the time.
- Most people incorrectly call the day Groundhog’s Day, (including me prior to my research for this blog) but the official name for the holiday is Groundhog Day.
- There are several copycat weather predicting groundhogs throughout the United States and Canada such as Birmingham Bill, who lives in a zoo in Alabama; Staten Island Chuck, who is also referred to as Charles G. Hogg; and Shubenacadie Sam, a Canadian groundhog who lives in a wildlife park in Nova Scotia.
Want to explore more about this curious holiday? These websites were especially helpful to me in writing this blog:
