IN WHAT YEAR DID THE TRADITION OF GROUNDHOG DAY BEGIN?

In the 18th and 19th centuries, German-speaking Pennsylvania Dutch emigrants brought with them the practice of foretelling the weather based on observations of animal behavior. The Candlemas festival was observed by many of the Pennsylvania Dutch because they were German Protestants. The Pennsylvania Dutch used groundhogs instead of badgers to foretell the weather.

James L. Morris of Morgantown, Pennsylvania, made the first recorded written reference to the celebration of Groundhog Day in his personal diary. This 1840 diary entry discusses a holiday commemorating groundhogs.

In 1886, the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper published the first written account of Groundhog Day. The newspaper claimed the groundhog did not see his shadow, even though no official ceremony had taken place. One year later, on February 2, 1887, the first official Groundhog Day ceremony was held in the same town.

A Look Back at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania's Role in the Origins of Groundhog Day

Legend has it that Clymer Freas, city editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit, is responsible for creating the modern tradition of Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania. Freas convinced the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club—a group made up of businesspeople and groundhog hunters—to observe a groundhog in order to foretell the length of winter.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club visited Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on February 2, 1887, to see if a groundhog saw his shadow. The first groundhog at this event predicted a long winter after seeing its shadow. There have been several names for this groundhog over the years, including "Br'er Groundhog" and "The Punxsutawney Groundhog."

It was in 1961 that the Pennsylvania groundhog who makes the annual Groundhog Day weather prediction began using the name Punxsutawney Phil. The official records state that the groundhog was named Punxsutawney Phil in honor of King Philip, though it is unclear which King Philip the groundhog was named after.

At Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania's Gobbler's Knob, locals and visitors alike continue to celebrate Groundhog Day each year.

There are tens of thousands of people there to watch the Inner Circle, a group of local officials, who wear top hats and speak in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect as they run the show.

At the base of Gobbler's Knob in the woods, visitors can take in Punxsutawney Phil's antics from the comfort of an outdoor amphitheater. When Groundhog Day is celebrated in February, temperatures can drop to dangerously low levels.