Update: Groundhog doesn’t see shadow
A brown, furry forecaster with buckteeth predicts the pattern of seasonal changes on Groundhog Day each year.
The official Groundhog Day ceremony is in Punxsutawney, Penn., where the holiday originated.
Thousands of people will gather at Gobbler’s Knob, a 19-acre plot of land about one and a half miles from Punxsutawney, to see if the groundhog sees his shadow and determine when winter will fade into spring.
If the groundhog sees his shadow after he peeks out from his burrow, he will climb back into the hole, and winter will continue for six more weeks. If he does not see his shadow, winter will end soon.
Chelsea Bordelon, psychology junior, said she hopes the groundhog does not see his shadow because she doesn’t like cold weather.
“I hate it,” she said. “It makes me depressed. I’m ready for the sun to come out, and the cold to go away.”
Mark Kell, political science sophomore, said he doesn’t mind cold weather.
“I’m from the North, so I guess I’m used to it,” he said.
A group of 15 people called the Inner Circle serves as the board of directors for the holiday and owns the site of the ceremony. Members dress in traditional 1880s attire complete with black tuxedos, bow-ties and top-hats for the ceremony.
“We try to stay true to tradition,” said Mike Johnston, 15-year member of the Inner Circle.
The ceremony will be broadcast around the nation as well as in Germany and New Zealand.
Punxsutawney Phil, the official groundhog, predicted six more weeks of winter last year. Johnston said the groundhog has never been wrong.
Daniel Roane, sociology senior, said he isn’t sure if he believes that the groundhog determines seasonal changes.
Johnston said he expects more than 15,000 people to show up at the ceremony. He said Punxsutawney Phil never fears to emerge from his burrow in front of large crowds.
“He’s a consummate professional,” he said. “He revels in the adulation that the world puts upon his shoulders.”
Johnston said Punxsutawney’s Groundhog Day tradition began 121 years ago, on Feb. 2, 1886.
Johnston said German settlers moved to Pennsylvania in the late 1880s. They celebrated Candlemas Day, a holiday that represents the midpoint between winter and spring. They used hedgehogs to determine the seasons and adapted to using groundhogs when they settled in Pennsylvania.
Johnston said most groundhogs have an average life expectancy of six years, but Punxsutawney Phil has been around for more than 121 years. He said the Inner Circle feeds the groundhog an elixir called Groundhog Nog that adds years to his life.
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]