Every year on February 2nd, right around 7:20 am, Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his home to see his shadow, predicting how long winter will last. If he sees his shadow, 6 more weeks of winter, if not, early spring. 

Groundhog’s Day is a unique holiday, with even a movie taking place on this holiday. Punxsutawney Phil is 137 years old, drinking the “elixir of life” of “groundhog punch” every year on Groundhog’s Day to keep him young. 

The holiday is prepared and organized by Phil’s “Inner Circle.” Every February 2nd morning, Phil crawls out of his home, Gobbler’s Knob. He will either see his shadow or not. Depending on his prediction, he will speak to the president of the Inner Circle in Groundhogese (the official language of Punxsutawney Phil) and direct him to one of the two scrolls the vice president of the Inner Circle had prepared in advance. One scroll predicts an early spring while the other predicts 6 more weeks of winter. The president then will reveal the contents of the scroll to all. 

When getting the public’s opinion on the holiday, I spoke to Evelyn Powell who said, “I think Punxsutawney Phil is a fraud. This poor groundhog is forced out of his warm home every single year just to see hundreds of people surrounding him to report whether or not he saw his shadow. The only one who knows whether or not he saw his shadow is him. We don’t know what goes on in his brain.”

Perhaps a controversial opinion, but to each their own. The holiday has plenty of supporters though, with crowds as big as 20,000 people each year. Perhaps a bit of a ridiculous holiday, but clearly people enjoy it.