(TNS) — Groundhog Day falls on Sunday, Feb. 2, and this year will see another crowd of revelers making their way to Punxsutawney to see the big event.
As is tradition, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club will consult with the one and only Punxsutawney Phil, their official Groundhog Day groundhog, to determine whether or not he saw his shadow.
According to folklore, if the groundhog can see his shadow on Groundhog Day, it’s a signal of six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, then an early spring is on the way.
And speaking of early: the prediction happens around 7:20 a.m. in Punxsutawney every year. But celebrations start in the wee hours of the mornings that day, well before sunrise. And of course, there are many events in the days leading up to Groundhog Day throughout Punxsutawney. A full list of official events can be found here.
While Punxsutawney Phil is the official groundhog for Punxsutawney’s event — and to many, the official groundhog for Groundhog Day, period — he’s not the only groundhog in the town.
In fact, Phil’s family has gotten bigger recently: his “wife,” Phyllis, recently gave birth to two new Punxsutawney groundhogs. Congratulations to the whole happy rodent family!
But when how accurate are Phil’s predictions, anyway? Well, we’ve looked at the results before. And judging by his track record over the years the predictions are about as accurate as a coin toss.
That said, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club insists that Phil is always right in his predictions. Indeed, they take the blame, as members of the club are the ones who have to translate Phil’s prediction into English. At least, that’s the story.
