We all know what time of year it is. It’s the time when we start to dread winter and yearn for the warm spring sun. 

   The weather is often off and on, with snowy, chilly days followed by warm, snow-melting days. Luckily, our friend Punxsutawney Phil makes his way out of his burrow to let us know if spring is just around the corner, or if we have a dreaded six more weeks of winter ahead.

   The holiday is most popular in the state of Pennsylvania, the same place where the famous groundhog lives. Groundhog Day is celebrated every year on February 2nd in the United States and in Canada. It’s a folk tradition based on an old weather prediction belief. The belief is that if the groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, we should expect six more weeks of winter, whereas if it does not see its shadow, we can look forward to an early spring.

   According to History.com, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought this custom to America and chose the groundhog as the animal that would make the prediction. 

   The first official groundhog day celebration in the United States took place on February 2nd, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, at a spot called Gobbler’s Knob. That day, Punxsutawney Phil was named, and the tradition grew from there.

   Today, families still celebrate, and they get together with food. In Pennsylvania, it’s common for people to celebrate with fizzies, a dessert made from pouring any flavor of soda over vanilla ice cream to make a float.

   “My family still does it every year… we are from Pennsylvania, so it’s really normal for us, but we have realized people don’t really care for the holiday as we do over there,” Ruby Shaffer ‘28 said. 

   Although people may not ‘celebrate’ the holiday, it is always acknowledged in our schools and on social media, and people still look forward to seeing what the groundhog predicts.

   “My friend was talking about celebrating Groundhog Day, and I thought it was so weird because I didn’t think it was a thing people celebrated,” Peyton Curry ‘26 said.