Has famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania seen his shadow today?

Will it be another 6 weeks of winter or not? I’m not telling. I did wake up early this morning to watch the live cam cast (EST) from Gobbler’s Knob. Temperature was 36 degrees F.

Click on their official website to find out:

http://www.groundhog.org/

Also check out that website for lots of great photos of their annual Groundhog Day event as well. Wish I could attend someday….but how do you get to Punxsutawney?

From their press kit:

BACKGROUND
European Roots
• The custom dates back to the early days of Christianity in Europe and grew out of a winter festival called Candlemas Day, a day for clergy to bless and distribute candles. According to legend, clear skies on Candlemas Day meant an extended winter.
• The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, brought this tradition to the Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or “Second Winter.”
• In Germany, the hedgehog became part of the legend. The German twist was that on a clear, sunny day, the hedgehog would cast a shadow.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Note: If you feel like you’ve read this blog before, guess what? — you have. I’m just exactly republishing my Feb. 2, 2011 blog here again — in keeping with the Groundhog Day movie starring Bill Murray!

Visiting Gobbler’s Knob this morning was PA Governor Tom Corbett, and the Groundhog King and Queen (for a year). 18,000 people were in the crowd, waiting for Phil to predict the weather. And he’s done it for 126 years!

Has famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania seen his shadow today?

Will it be another 6 weeks of winter or not? I’m not telling. I did wake up early this morning to watch the live cam cast (EST) from Gobbler’s Knob. Temperature was 36 degrees F.

Click on their official website to find out:

http://www.groundhog.org/

Also check out that website for lots of great photos of their annual Groundhog Day event as well. Wish I could attend someday….but how do you get to Punxsutawney?

From their press kit:

BACKGROUND
European Roots
• The custom dates back to the early days of Christianity in Europe and grew out of a winter festival called Candlemas Day, a day for clergy to bless and distribute candles. According to legend, clear skies on Candlemas Day meant an extended winter.
• The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, brought this tradition to the Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or “Second Winter.”
• In Germany, the hedgehog became part of the legend. The German twist was that on a clear, sunny day, the hedgehog would cast a shadow.

Happy Groundhog Day!

The official report from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is that on Feb. 2nd groundhog Phil did see his shadow, and thus there are supposedly 6 more weeks of winter to endure. Here’s a rather cute photo of Phil, for those of you (including me) who have never seen a real groundhog:

Punxsutawney Phil (from their website)

I have lived in the colder climes more than once (Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; and Charlottesville, Virginia) so I know what that means– 6 more weeks of snow, ice, and cold.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog yesterday, precisely timed for 6 a.m. (as in the movie when February 2nd begins over and over). The best part of that 1993 “Groundhog Day” movie was that egotistical weatherman Phil (coincidentally the same name as the groundhog) has to learn to become a better man, by repeating and repeating the lessons he must learn till he gets it right.

Take heart readers, and enjoy the hope of Springtime coming. I well remember waiting with anticipation for the first signs of spring: the crocuses peeping out of the snow-covered ground, the forsythia budding, the tiny light-green leaves appearing on the bare branches of the trees.

And if you want to see the Official Website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, click here. That site has more than you will ever need to know about groundhogs.

Happy Groundhog Day again!