Did the groundhog see his own shadow? Get Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions
Thousands of people gathered to celebrate Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Good news for everyone enjoying the harsh winter weather this year.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Monday, February 2nd. So, according to legend, winter will last for another six weeks.
The annual Groundhog Day ceremony, held every February 2, took place Monday morning in front of a crowd of several thousand people at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, about 130 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
It’s not uncommon for Phil to predict a longer winter, and he said the same thing just last year. Phil has seen his shadow a total of 110 times since Groundhog Day was recorded.
Why do we celebrate Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd every year. Although it’s not a federal holiday, it’s worth noting that it’s the day on which the famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts the upcoming weather.
Legend has it that if Phil sees his own shadow, six more weeks of winter will come. Otherwise, early spring awaits.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Groundhog Day falls on the same day as the Christian holiday Candlemas, which is where some of the holiday’s traditions originate.
Candlemas were developed to predict the planting of crops, so an important aspect of the festival was to predict either an early spring or a long winter. Sunshine on Candlemas was said to signal the continuation of winter.
According to the almanac, Europeans traditionally relied on bears and badgers to find signs of the return of winter or the coming of spring, but when German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania, they instead used groundhogs to make predictions.
What would Punxsutawney Phil say in 2025?
Last year, Phil saw his shadow in front of more than 30,000 people, heralding six more weeks of winter.
He predicted an early spring in 2024, only the 21st time since records began for this event.
Groundhog has predicted that winter will be longer four times in the past six years: in 2025, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
Watch the 2026 Groundhog Day replay from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Contributor: Emily Vetter, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
