Punxsutawney Phil, the original, official Groundhog, literally “phoned it in” this Groundhog’s Day. The sun had barely risen when tophatted local officials began parading Phil, the groundhog, before a crowd of 20,000 people. As usual, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. In addition to seeing his shadow the old-fashioned way, Phil also texted his prediction to more than 26,000 people.
Groundhog Day dates back to the early Christian celebration of Candlemas, when candles were blessed and distributed. Candlemas celebrants predicted that clear skies on Candlemas Day meant more winter weather ahead. The Roman legions, during their conquest of northern Europe, introduced the idea to the Germans to Candlemas. The Germans put their own twist on it, and said if the sun shone on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would see its shadow. (That was a tough one to figure out!) When Germans settled Pennsylvania, the hedgehog became a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck or whistle-pig. In the 1880s, some enterprising citizens of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, decided to name themselves the Punxsutawney Grounhog Club, and February 2–Candlemas–was named Groundhog Day.
So what did Phil say in his text? Read below:
“If you want to know next, you must read my text. As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me. So six more weeks of winter it will be.”
Tags: Candlemas, Germans, Groundhog, Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, texted, texting