In the DVD commentary for the film, director Harold Ramis said he pictured Phil as spending about 10 years repeating Groundhog Day.
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Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter.
According to lore, if Phil emerges from his home and sees his shadow on Groundhog Day morning, winter will last for six more weeks… and if Phil does not see his shadow, springtime weather will arrive early.
Though Phil’s method may seem flawed – anticipating that the sight of his shadow determines a longer winter, while no shadow calls for an early spring – he has a tendency to get it right. It mentions that the previous Tuesday was the holiday and gives a brief description of the traditional belief.
Still, Grube noted that Punxsutawney Phil is “the standard” when it comes to predicting spring’s arrival. And be sure to check back for updates from Punxsutawney and all over New Jersey. Inspired by a group of local groundhog hunters-whom he would dub the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club-Freas declared Phil as America’s official forecasting groundhog in 1887.
While Groundhog Day is a way to have a little fun at mid-winter, climate records and statistics tell us that winter probably isn’t over. Find out how to watch his prediction live online (link below) and let’s hope for good news.
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It’s Groundhog Day, plain and simple. German settlers in the area expanded on this tradition by selecting a groundhog as a means of predicting the weather. Thousands of people come to Punxsutawney for the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob on February 2. But the whole pull-him-out-of-den-and-hold-him-up-like-Simba routine starts around 6 a.m.
