SHADOWS. Each year on February 2nd everyone in the area patiently awaits the verdict of a rodent’s shadow to tell us if we are in for six more weeks of winter. For some reason, only a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil from Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney knows the correct answer.

If the all-knowing weather rodent celebrity sees his shadow today then we can expect to bunker down for another six weeks of winter — adversely, if the skies are cloudy and Phil does not see his shadow then warmer temperatures can be expected, along with an early spring.

According to NationalToday.com, the tradition originated with German settlers, the Pennsylvania Dutch, who arrived in our fair state back in the 1700s, bringing with them their seasonal superstition of Candlemas. Supposedly, a clear day on Candlemas would prohibit a prolonged winter. Candlemas also involved the clergy blessing and distributing candles needed for winter, however the Dutch transformed this idea after immigrating to PA by selecting an animal to predict their needs for winter. In German lore, a badger known as Dachs predicts their weather forecast.

Officially, the first ever Groundhog Day was created in 1886 by a newspaper editor named Clymer Freas, who convinced Groundhog hunters, local businessmen and members of his Punxsutawney Groundhog club on the idea. Together, they all traveled to Gobbler’s Knob where the Groundhog would make the final prediction on the weather.

Ever wonder what the secret to Punxsutawney Phil’s seemingly immortal life is? — supposedly, each summer Phil drinks a “magic elixir of life,” giving him seven more years of life. Phil has been predicting the weather since 1886 even though the average lifespan of a groundhog is six years.