Punxsutawney Phil

On February 2 each year,{{Cite web|url=https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/01/groundhog-day-2020-guide-punxsutawney-phil-facts-tips-for-going-to-gobblers-knob-and-more.html|title=Groundhog Day 2020 Guide: Punxsutawney Phil facts, tips for going to Gobbler's Knob and more|date=2020-01-28|website=pennlive|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-date=2020-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212205702/https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/01/groundhog-day-2020-guide-punxsutawney-phil-facts-tips-for-going-to-gobblers-knob-and-more.html|url-status=live}} Punxsutawney holds a civic festival with music and food. During the ceremony, which begins well before the winter sunrise, Phil emerges from his temporary home on Gobbler's Knob, located in a rural area about {{convert|2|mi|0}} southeast of the town. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring."{{cite web |title=Groundhog.org FAQ |work=Groundhog.org |url=http://www.groundhog.org/ |access-date=2009-02-02 |archive-date=2012-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717053947/http://www.groundhog.org/ |url-status=live }} Punxsutawney's event is the most famous of many Groundhog Day festivals held in the United States and Canada. The event formally began in 1887, although its roots go back even further.{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts|title=Groundhog Day: History and Facts|website=History.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-date=2020-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206214521/https://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts|url-status=live}}

The event is based upon a communal light-hearted suspension of disbelief which extends to the assertion that the same groundhog has been making predictions since the 19th century.

The event is organized by the "Inner Circle" – recognizable by their top hats and tuxedos – who ostensibly communicate with Phil to receive his prediction.

The vice president of the Inner Circle prepares two scrolls in advance of the actual ceremony, one proclaiming six more weeks of winter and one proclaiming an early spring. At daybreak on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil awakens from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob, is helped to the top of the stump by his handlers, and purportedly explains to the president of the Inner Circle, in a language known as "Groundhogese", whether he has seen his shadow. The president of the Inner Circle, the only person able to understand Groundhogese through his possession of an ancient acacia wood cane, then interprets Phil's message, and directs the vice president to read the proper scroll to the crowd gathered on Gobbler's Knob and the masses of "phaithphil phollowers" tuned in to live broadcasts around the world.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKQhYPcNhx0 |title=Every Day Is Groundhog Day For Punxsutawney Phil’s Caretakers {{!}} TODAY Original |date=2020-02-01 |last=TODAY |access-date=2025-01-15 |via=YouTube}}

Outside of Groundhog Day, Phil resides with a mate, Phyllis, at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library in a climate-controlled environment. In March 2024, the Inner Circle announced that Phil had sired two babies, the first time in the history of the event that such a siring had happened; the birth surprised the Inner Circle, which had assumed that groundhogs do not breed in captivity. As a result of the births, the family will move permanently to Gobbler's Knob. The Inner Circle disowned the babies from ever inheriting their father's position.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-27 |title=Punxsutawney Phil surprises, starts family with 2 baby groundhogs |url=https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/exclusive-punxsutawney-phil-surprises-starts-family-with-2-baby-groundhogs/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=ABC27 |language=en-US}}

The practices and lore of Punxsutawney Phil's predictions are predicated on a light-hearted suspension of disbelief by those involved. According to the lore, there is only one Phil, and all other weather-predicting groundhogs are impostors. It is claimed that this one groundhog has lived to make weather prognostications since 1886, sustained by drinks of "groundhog punch" or "elixir of life" administered at the annual Groundhog Picnic in the fall.{{cite web |title=Fun Facts |url=http://www.groundhog.org/about/fun-facts-faq/ |website=The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club |access-date=3 February 2016 |archive-date=19 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119015248/http://www.groundhog.org/about/fun-facts-faq/ |url-status=live }}

According to the Groundhog Club, Phil, after the prediction, speaks to the club president in the language of 'Groundhogese', which supposedly only the current president can understand, and then his prediction is translated and revealed to all.

The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in Germanic tradition that says that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2, the Christian celebration of Candlemas, winter and cold weather will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early. In Germany, the tradition evolved into a myth that if the sun came out on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast its shadow, predicting snow all the way into May.{{cite web |title=Groundhog Day, Hedgehogs and Candlemas |url=http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23627.asp |website=www.bellaonline.com |access-date=3 February 2017 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202235407/http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23627.asp |url-status=live }} When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they transferred the tradition onto local fauna, replacing hedgehogs with groundhogs. Several other towns in the region hold similar Groundhog Day events.

Phil first received his name in 1961. The origins of the name are unclear, but speculation suggests that it may have been indirectly named after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.{{Cite web|date=2019-02-01|title=The Curious (and Possibly Murderous) Origins of Punxsutawney Phil's Name|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/572308/why-punxsutawney-groundhog-called-phil|access-date=2022-10-01|website=Mental Floss|language=en-US|archive-date=2019-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203024405/http://mentalfloss.com/article/572308/why-punxsutawney-groundhog-called-phil|url-status=live}}

Prior to 1993, the Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney attracted crowds of approximately 2,000. The popularity of the film Groundhog Day brought significantly more attention to the event, with annual crowds rising to 10,000–20,000. A notable exception was 2021, when the event took place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/us/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-winter-trnd/index.html|title=Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter|website=CNN|date=2 February 2021|access-date=2 February 2021|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202144211/https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/us/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-winter-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Carlson|first=Peter|date=3 February 2004|title=His Moment in the Sun|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/02/03/his-moment-in-the-sun/ba54b852-684f-475b-aa7e-91bba6dc1467/|access-date=23 June 2020|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818113506/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/02/03/his-moment-in-the-sun/ba54b852-684f-475b-aa7e-91bba6dc1467/|url-status=live}} Since approximately 2018, the event is streamed online each year.{{Cite web|title=What Time Does the Groundhog Come Out on Groundhog Day?|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/what-time-does-groundhog-come-out|access-date=2020-06-23|website=Travel + Leisure|language=EN|archive-date=2018-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006000307/https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/what-time-does-groundhog-come-out|url-status=live}}{{Citation |title=Groundhog Day 2018: Punxsutawney Phil's winter prediction live from Gobbler's Knob {{!}} ABC News | date=2 February 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug7voYQnUaE |access-date=2023-09-06 |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906033710/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug7voYQnUaE |url-status=live }}

Also given the recent increase in crowd sizes, three sitting governors of Pennsylvania have attended the festivities, all since 2000: Ed Rendell in 2003, Tom Corbett in 2012, and Josh Shapiro in 2023, 2024 and 2025.{{Cite web |last=Deto |first=Ryan |date=2023-02-01 |title=Shapiro to become just 3rd sitting governor to attend Pa.'s Groundhog Day celebration |url=https://triblive.com/local/regional/shapiro-to-become-just-3rd-sitting-governor-to-attend-pa-s-groundhog-day-celebration/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=TribLIVE.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906033712/https://triblive.com/local/regional/shapiro-to-become-just-3rd-sitting-governor-to-attend-pa-s-groundhog-day-celebration/ |url-status=live }}

Phil was named the "Official" State Meteorologist by Governor Shapiro during the 2024 ceremony.{{Cite web |last=Shannon|first=Bill|date=2024-02-02 |title=Punxsutawney Phil declared Pennsylvania's official meteorologist |url=https://www.abc27.com/news/punxsutawney-phil-declared-pennsylvanias-official-meteorologist/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=abc27.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202143641/https://www.abc27.com/news/punxsutawney-phil-declared-pennsylvanias-official-meteorologist/ |url-status=live }}

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals object to the event, claiming that Phil is put under stress. They suggest replacing Phil with a robotic groundhog.{{Cite news|title=No more Punxsutawney Phil? It's 'long overdue' for an AI groundhog instead, PETA says.|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/29/groundhog-peta-punxsutawney/|access-date=2022-10-01|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2022-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525204259/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/29/groundhog-peta-punxsutawney/|url-status=live}}

In some cases where Phil's prognostications have been incorrect, organizations have jokingly made legal threats against the groundhog. Such tongue-in-cheek actions have been made by a prosecutor in Ohio,{{cite news|url=http://www.whiotv.com/news/news/local/prosecutor-indicts-groundhog-for-misrepresentation/nWzPr/|title=Prosecutor indicts groundhog for misrepresentation of early spring|date=March 21, 2013|access-date=March 21, 2013|publisher=WHIO-TV|archive-date=March 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324001533/http://www.whiotv.com/news/news/local/prosecutor-indicts-groundhog-for-misrepresentation/nWzPr/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Prediction-groundhog-faces-death/tabid/417/articleID/291679/Default.aspx|title=Prediction groundhog faces 'death'|date=March 25, 2013|work=3 News NZ|access-date=March 24, 2013|archive-date=December 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226041742/http://www.3news.co.nz/Prediction-groundhog-faces-death/tabid/417/articleID/291679/Default.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Mandak|first=Joe|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2020637223_apusgroundhogsfallibleforecast.html|title=Pa. groundhog's handler taking blame for forecast|date=March 25, 2013|newspaper=The Seattle Times|access-date=26 December 2013|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=28 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228200058/http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2020637223_apusgroundhogsfallibleforecast.html|url-status=live}} the sheriff's office of Monroe County, Pennsylvania,{{Cite news|last=Samenow|first=Jason|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/03/28/there-is-a-warrant-out-for-the-punxsutawney-phils-arrest-give-the-groundhog-a-break/|title=There is a Warrant Out for the Punxsutawney Phil's Arrest. Give the Groundhog a Break.|date=28 March 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=12 February 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212202602/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/03/28/there-is-a-warrant-out-for-the-punxsutawney-phils-arrest-give-the-groundhog-a-break/|url-status=live}} and the Merrimack, New Hampshire Police Department.{{Cite web|last=Durando|first=Jessica|title=Police want to take Punxsutawney Phil into custody|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/11/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-merrimack-police-warrant/23272575/|access-date=2022-10-01|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208110859/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/11/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-merrimack-police-warrant/23272575/|url-status=live}}

File:Gobbler's Knob.JPG, Pittsburgh]]

• Phil and the town of Punxsutawney were portrayed in the 1993 film Groundhog Day. The actual town used to portray Punxsutawney in the film is Woodstock, Illinois.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pennlive.com/life/2017/01/groundhog_day_filming_locations.html|title=2 Punxsutawneys: Compare 'Groundhog Day' film locations to the real town|last=Wardle|first=Lisa|date=2017-01-06|website=pennlive|language=en|access-date=2020-03-30|archive-date=2020-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812205958/https://www.pennlive.com/life/2017/01/groundhog_day_filming_locations.html|url-status=live}}
• In Groundhog Day, the 2016 Broadway musical adaptation of the film, Phil is ascribed a more mythical role.
• In 1995, Phil flew to Chicago for a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired on Groundhog Day, February 2, 1995.{{cite book|last=Pulling|first=Anne Frances|title=Around Punxsutawney (Images of America)|year=2001|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-0530-5|page=128}}
• A 2002 episode of the children's animated series Stanley, titled "Searching for Spring", featured Punxsutawney Phil.
• Phil was the main attraction in "Groundhog Day", the April 10, 2005 episode of the MTV series Viva La Bam. In the episode, street skater Bam Margera holds a downhill race in honor of Punxsutawney Phil at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
• The Pennsylvania Lottery's mascot is a groundhog named Gus, referred to in commercials as "the second most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania", in deference to Phil.{{cite web|date=November 25, 2015|title=Gus the Groundhog is Back by Popular Demand|url=https://www.palottery.state.pa.us/about-pa-lottery/news-events-media/news/2015/november/pa-lottery%E2%80%99s-gus-the-groundhog-is-back-by-popular.aspx|website=Pennsylvania Lottery|access-date=August 13, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801060624/https://www.palottery.state.pa.us/about-pa-lottery/news-events-media/news/2015/november/pa-lottery%E2%80%99s-gus-the-groundhog-is-back-by-popular.aspx|url-status=live}} Because the Groundhog Club Inner Circle has trademarked the use of the name "Punxsutawney Phil", no commercial entity may use the name without the permission from the Inner Circle, which does not allow commercialization of the name.
• Phil is the antagonist of the 2024 play How to Kill a Rodent. In the play, Canadians Guy and Carrie go to Punxsutawney to commit an act of terrorism against the United States by assassinating Phil on live television.{{Cite web |title= How to Kill a Rodent |url=https://www.nextstagepress.com/how-to-kill-a-rodent// |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=Next Stage Press |language=en-US}}

{{legend table|style=

|azure|"Six more weeks of winter" (108)

|gold|"Early spring" (20)

|salmon|"War clouds have blacked out parts of the shadow." (1)

|silver|No appearance (event canceled) (1)

|grey|No record (10)

}}

{{clear}}

The Inner Circle, in keeping with the suspension of disbelief, claims a 100% accuracy rate, and an approximately 80% accuracy rate in recorded predictions. They claim that whenever the prediction is wrong, the person in charge of translating the message must have made a mistake in their interpretation. Impartial estimates place the groundhog's accuracy between 35% and 41%.{{cite web |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-forecasters-versus-us-temperature-record |title=Groundhog Forecasters versus the U.S. Temperature Record |author= |publisher=NOAA National Climatic Data Center |access-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205072347/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-forecasters-versus-us-temperature-record |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=2017-02-01|title=Groundhog Day Forecasts and Climate History|url=http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-day-forecasts-and-climate-history|access-date=2022-10-01|website=National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)|language=en|archive-date=2022-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930152401/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/groundhog-day-forecasts-and-climate-history|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2023-02-02 |title=Phil's Groundhog Day prediction: 6 more weeks of winter |url=https://apnews.com/article/groundhog-day-2023-predictions-1c96d9255b0009fa6a52b4a1e4a40dd0 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=2023-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202124634/https://apnews.com/article/groundhog-day-2023-predictions-1c96d9255b0009fa6a52b4a1e4a40dd0 |url-status=live }}

• Balzac Billy, the official groundhog of Balzac, Alberta, Canada
• Buckeye Chuck, the official groundhog of Marion, Ohio, United States
• Fred la Marmotte, the official groundhog of Val-d'Espoir, Quebec, Canada
• General Beauregard Lee, the official groundhog of Jackson, Georgia, United States (and by extension, the entire Southern US)
• Gus the Groundhog, mascot of the Pennsylvania Lottery
• Shubenacadie Sam, the official groundhog of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Staten Island Chuck, the official groundhog of New York City, New York, United States
• Stormy Marmot, a yellow-bellied marmot who is part of the Groundhog Day celebrations of Aurora, Colorado, United States.
• Wiarton Willie, the official groundhog of Wiarton, Ontario, Canada

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite journal |doi=10.3200/WEWI.61.1.16-17 |title=February 2, 1886: The First Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania |year=2008 |last1=Potter |first1=Sean |journal=Weatherwise |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=16–17|bibcode=2008Weawi..61a..16P |s2cid=191332194 }}
• {{Cite book |first1=Julia Spencer |last1=Moutran |year=1987 |title=The story of Punxsutawney Phil, "the fearless forecaster" |publisher=Literary Publications |location=Avon, Connecticut |isbn=978-0-9617819-0-3}}
• {{Cite book |first1=Julie Ellen |last1=Benesh |year=2011 |title=Becoming Punxsutawney Phil: Symbols and metaphors of transformation in Groundhog Day |type=PhD Thesis |publisher=Fielding Graduate University |url=http://gradworks.umi.com/34/50/3450252.html |access-date=2012-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205055006/http://gradworks.umi.com/34/50/3450252.html |archive-date=2015-02-05 |url-status=dead }}
• {{Cite journal |jstor=2687216 |url=http://www.maa.org/pubs/cmj_1_01.pdf |pages=26–29 |last1=Aaron |first1=Michael A. |last2=Boyd |first2=Brewster B. |last3=Curtis |first3=Melanie J. |last4=Sommers |first4=Paul M. |title=Punxsutawney's Phenomenal Phorecaster |volume=32 |issue=1 |journal=The College Mathematics Journal |year=2001 |doi=10.2307/2687216 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513160448/http://www.maa.org/pubs/cmj_1_01.pdf |archive-date=2012-05-13 }}

• [https://www.kevinkatovic.com/2016/02/02/punxsutawney-groundhog-day/ Gobbler's Knob Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202202647/https://www.kevinkatovic.com/2016/02/02/punxsutawney-groundhog-day/ |date=2016-02-02 }}
• [https://www.groundhog.org/ Groundhog.org]. the official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
• [https://onwardstate.com/community/the-oddities-of-groundhog-day/ The Oddities of Groundhog Day]. Onward State.
• [https://www.punxsutawneylibrary.org/about.html Visiting Phil at Punxsutawney Library]

{{Groundhog Day}}

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