Groundhog Day 2024: Punxsutawney Phil did not see shadow, predicts early spring

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. -- Punxsutawney Phil has made his prediction for 2024 Groundhog Day. The honorary groundhog did not spot his shadiness Friday morning, predicting that determination volition beryllium an aboriginal spring. The time marks the 21st clip Phil has not seen his shadiness during the 138-year-old tradition.

The spotlight was connected Gobbler's Knob successful occidental Pennsylvania aboriginal Friday morning, erstwhile handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil announced whether helium saw his ain shadiness and predicts six much weeks of wintertime oregon an aboriginal spring.

Thousands gathered to be the yearly lawsuit that exploded successful popularity aft the 1993 Bill Murray movie, "Groundhog Day."

It's portion of a contented rooted successful European cultivation life, marking the midpoint betwixt the shortest time of the twelvemonth connected the wintertime solstice and the outpouring equinox. It's besides a clip of twelvemonth that figures successful the Celtic calendar and the Christian vacation of Candlemas.

And successful eastbound and cardinal Pennsylvania, wherever radical of German descent person been watching the groundhog's yearly emergence from hibernation for centuries, there's a contented of groundhog clubs and celebrations that are autarkic of Phil.

Some disregard the Punxsutawney lawsuit arsenic an unworthy rival to their ain festivities, which they accidental forecast much close upwind predictions. There person been weather-predicting groundhogs successful astatine slightest 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and little ceremonial celebrations acold and wide.

One happening it's not: superior business.

"We cognize this is silly; we cognize this is fun," said Marcy Galando, enforcement manager of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. "We privation radical to travel present with a consciousness of humor."

WILL PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL GET IT RIGHT IN 2024?

Some well-meaning efforts person sought to find Phil's accuracy, but what "six weeks of winter" means is debatable. Claims that a groundhog has oregon has not seen its shadiness - and that it's capable to pass that to a quality - are besides just territory for skeptics and the wit impaired.

By each accounts, Phil predicts much wintertime acold much often than helium predicts an aboriginal spring.

Groundhogs are mostly solitary creatures who commencement to look successful midwinter to find a mate. The subject down whether they tin marque immoderate close upwind predictions is problematic astatine best.

Among the skeptics is the National Centers for Environmental Information, wrong the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The authorities bureau past twelvemonth compared Phil's grounds with U.S. nationalist temperatures implicit the anterior decennary and concluded helium was close lone 40% of the time.

WHAT ARE GROUNDHOG DAY'S ORIGINS?

Celtic radical crossed Europe marked the 4 days that are midway betwixt the wintertime solstice, the outpouring equinox, the summertime solstice and the autumn equinox. What the Celts called Imbolc is besides astir erstwhile Christians observe Candlemas, timed to Joseph and Mary's presumption of Jesus astatine the Temple successful Jerusalem.

Ancient radical would ticker the sun, stars and carnal behaviour to usher farming practices and different decisions, and the signifier of watching an animal's emergence from wintertime hibernation to forecast upwind has roots successful a akin German contented involving badgers oregon bears. Pennsylvania Germans seemingly substituted the groundhog, endemic to the eastbound and midwestern United States.

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Historians person recovered a notation successful an 1841 diary to groundhog upwind forecasts successful aboriginal February among families of German descent successful Morgantown, Pennsylvania, according to the precocious Don Yoder, a University of Pennsylvania prof whose 2003 publication astir Groundhog Day explored the Celtic connection.

Yoder concluded the festival has roots successful "ancient, undoubtedly prehistoric, upwind lore."

WHY IS GROUNDHOG DAY CELEBRATED IN PUNXSUTAWNEY?

Punxsutawney is an country that Pennsylvania Germans settled - and successful the precocious 1880s started celebrating the vacation by picnicking, hunting and eating groundhogs.

The yearly lawsuit dates to 1887 erstwhile a radical of groundhog hunters archetypal dubbed themselves "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" and proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil to beryllium the one-and-only upwind prognosticating groundhog. Since then, thousands of radical stitchery each February 2 to ticker the groundhog emerge.

The Punxsutawney groundhog makes predictions but he's not ever predictable. The designated groundhog emerged earlier sunrise successful 1929 and didn't travel retired until precocious day successful 1941.

Members of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club attraction for Phil astatine a customized abstraction beside Punxsutawney Memorial Library - wherever there's a model with a presumption into the creature's burrow.

The Bill Murray movie caused specified a resurgence of involvement that 2 years aft it came out, lawsuit organizers voiced interest astir rowdy crowds drinking each night, radical climbing trees and others stripping to their underwear. In 1998, a groundhog nine person wearing a $4,000 groundhog suit reported being assaulted by a half-dozen young men.

Alcohol is present prohibited astatine Gobbler's Knob, Phil's spot immoderate 80 miles (123 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.

DOES PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL HAVE ANY COMPETITION?

The aboriginal festivities successful Punxsutawney were followed successful 1907 by folks successful Quarryville, a farming country successful Lancaster County successful Pennsylvania's southeastern corner. The astir 240 members of the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge determination study the wintertime forecast from Octoraro Orphie, oregon slightest via his well-preserved remains.

Quarryville lodge committee seat Charlie Hart said the enactment has dinners and different societal events passim the twelvemonth but is mostly focused connected Groundhog Day.

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Hart credits Orphie arsenic a acold amended forecaster than Phil.

"Octoraro Orphie has ne'er been wrong," Hart said. "This is the 116th year, and successful the erstwhile 115 helium has been close connected the wealth each year."

WHISTLE PIGS ON THE MENU?

The groundhog is simply a subordinate of the squirrel household and related to chipmunks and prairie dogs. It's besides known arsenic a woodchuck, a whistle pig - oregon successful the parlance of Pennsylvania Dutch, a connection with German roots, a "grundsau."

Groundhogs are herbivores that are themselves edible to humans, though they are not wide consumed. Their lifespan successful the chaotic is typically 2 oregon 3 years.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission says astir 36,000 hunters reported sidesplitting much than 200,000 groundhogs past year.

Game Commission spokesperson Travis Lau recovered groundhog a spot stinky to clean, with heavy skin.

"It was really truly good, nary uncertainty astir it - and to my taste, much similar beef than venison is," Lau said. "The full household ate it and liked it, and everybody had apprehensions."

Some cooks counsel groundhogs are champion taken erstwhile they are young and aft clover is successful bloom, since a clover fare is thought to amended the meat's taste.

WHEN DID CLUBS AND LODGES SPRING UP?

Starting successful the 1930s, groundhog lodges opened successful eastbound Pennsylvania. They were societal clubs with similarities to Freemasonry.

Intended to sphere Pennsylvania German civilization and traditions, clubs would sometimes good those who were caught speaking thing but their Pennsylvania Dutch connection astatine meetings. They were traditionally all-male groups and 15 specified clubs stay active.

They each stock the unifying diagnostic of a groundhog's upwind prognostication, said William W. Donner, a Kutztown University anthropology prof and writer of "Serious Nonsense," a publication astir specified lodges and different efforts to sphere German heritage.

"I deliberation it's conscionable 1 of these accepted rituals that radical bask participating in, that possibly instrumentality them distant from modern beingness for 15 minutes," Donner said.