Updated: February 2, 2021, 8:38 am
Punxsutawney Phil, with handler Al Dereume, at last year’s Groundhog Day ceremony (Barry Reeger/AP)
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It is Groundhog Day in the US – virtually.
The annual ritual held at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, to see if a famous groundhog will emerge from his burrow and portend the end of winter will be held on Tuesday.
But this year, because of Covid-19, Groundhog Day – made famous in the 1993 film of the same name – will be off limits to the public and conducted virtually, with viewers able to watch online thanks to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
First Groundhog Day
The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on Feb. 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The idea was hatched by local newspaper editor Clymer Freas, who sold a group of businessmen and groundhog hunters â known collectively as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club â on the idea.
The men trekked to a site called Gobblerâs Knob, where the inaugural groundhog became the bearer of bad news when he saw his shadow.
Nowadays, the yearly festivities in Punxsutawney are presided over by a band of local dignitaries known as the Inner Circle. Its members wear top hats and conduct the official proceedings in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Supposedly they speak to the groundhog in âGroundhogese.â
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter
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Groundhog Club President Jeff Lundy interacts with Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil s handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year s event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – There will be six more weeks of winter, Punxsutawney Phil predicted as he emerged from his burrow on a snowy Tuesday morning to perform his Groundhog Day duties.
It is Groundhog Day in the US – virtually.
The annual ritual held at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, to see if a famous groundhog will emerge from his burrow and portend the end of winter will be held on Tuesday.
But this year, because of Covid-19, Groundhog Day – made famous in the 1993 film of the same name – will be off limits to the public and conducted virtually, with viewers able to watch online thanks to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
In an event dating back to 1887, each year on February 2 onlookers have made their way to the hill, near the town of Punxsutawney, north-east of Pittsburgh, to watch for a sign of the end of winter from a groundhog.