SHADOWS: Happy Groundhog Day!

Everybody’s familiar with Punxsutawney Phil and the big to-do in his hometown each Feb. 2. Everyone knows about Phil’s supposed spring-predicting abilities.

But how many know where the holiday comes from? We certainly didn’t until we looked into it.

The earliest known record of the town-wide observance of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney was an article published in the Punxsutawney Spirit in 1886, but folklore associated with it is centuries old and traveled here from Europe. This all according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s website.

The club reported that it’s believed the holiday has roots in early Christian traditions, holding to similar beliefs as the Christian celebration of Candlemas Day (which may have been a Christianized form of a Gaelic festival). In Europe, the hedgehog determined the length of winter on Candlemas.

The club’s website indicates that Feb. 2, which falls roughly halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, was considered to be mid-winter, so it’s not surprising it became a time to take stock on how the winter was going.

Here’s some of our favorite tidbits from the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s website:

 • “During Prohibition Phil threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn’t allowed a drink.”

 • In 1937, Phil had an “unfortunate meeting with a skunk.”

 • In 1954, “The groundhog was turned completely white from worry.”

 • In 1958 Phil could be seen preparing “for blast-off in his ‘Chucknik’ spacecraft.” See, according to Phil, it was not the Soviet Sputnik that was the first man-made satellite around Earth but rather the “United States Chucknik.” He’s also made at least two trips to the moon, the site states.

Phil’s lived quite a life in his more than 100 years.

Did you know you can rent Gobbler’s Knob? We didn’t. Apparently the Knob has a building that holds up to 200 people.