Groundhog Day

... has its roots in a superstition originating in the Germanic–speaking areas of Europe, that if a badger emerging from its sett on Candlemas (2 February) found that it cast a shadow, meaning that the day was sunny, it foreboded the prolonging of winter by four more weeks. The superstition was transferred by people who emigrated from those countries to North America, with the groundhog (also known as the woodchuck) taking the place of the badger.

The earliest mention of Groundhog Day being celebrated in North America is an entry on 2 February 1840, in the diary of James L. Morris of Morgantown, Pennsylvania. This was a Welsh enclave, but the diarist was commenting on his neighbours who were of German stock.

The first reported news of a Groundhog Day observance appears to have been made by the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper, of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in 1886: "up to the time of going to press, the beast has not seen its shadow". But it was not until the following year (1887) that the first Groundhog Day considered "official" was commemorated there, with a group making a trip to a part of town that rejoiced in the name of 'Gobbler's Knob' to consult the groundhog. People have gathered annually at that spot for the event ever since.

Clymer Freas (1867–1942), who was city editor at the Punxsutawney Spirit, is credited as the 'father' who conceived the idea of Groundhog Day as an official event. It would appear that Groundhog Day events spread from Punxsutawney to other parts of the United States and Canada.

The Punxsutawney groundhog was not known as Punxsutawney Phil until 1961. Wikipedia cites an article on the Mental Floss website, which speculates that the name may originate in a pair of groundhogs that were sent from Punxsutawney to Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles, named Liz and Phil in honour of the UK's new Queen and Prince Consort. The baby groundhogs were welcomed by the zoo, but condemned by the California Department of Agriculture as "agricultural pests" and summarily killed. The people of Pennsylvania were understandably outraged.

Punxsutawney Phil is officially supposed to be the same animal that made the forecast in 1887.

Before the release of the 1993 film, directed by Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, Punxsutawney's official Groundhog Day ceremony would draw a crowd of around 2,000. According to Wikipedia, the attendance rose to 10,000 following the film's release and can today be as much as 40,000.