Today is Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2. It is held in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day fails to see its shadow, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If on the other hand, the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.[1] The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.[2] The holiday also bears some similarities to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas.[3] It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication.[4] Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge,[5] social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table.[6] The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as high as 40,000[7] have gathered to celebrate the holiday since at least 1886.[8] Other celebrations of note in Pennsylvania take place in Quarryville in Lancaster County,[9] the Anthracite Region of Schuylkill County,[10] the Sinnamahoning Valley[11] and Bucks County.[12] Outside of Pennsylvania, notable celebrations occur in the Frederick and Hagerstown areas of Maryland,[13] the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia,[14] Woodstock, Illinois,[15], Lilburn, Georgia[16] and among the Amish populations of over twenty states and Wiarton,Ontario Canada.[14] The University of Dallas in Irving, Texas has taken Groundhog Day as its official university holiday and organizes a large-scale celebration every year in honor of the Groundhog.[17] Groundhog Day received worldwide attention as a result of the 1993 film of the same name, Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and featured Punxsutawney Phil.[18] Famous groundhogs and predictions Statue of groundhog Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, ontario Many towns that celebrate Groundhog Day throughout North America have winter-predicting groundhogs. By far, the most notable groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Other groundhogs of note include Buckeye Chuck, General Beauregard Lee, Staten Island Chuck and Wiarton Willie. Groundhog Day proponents state that the rodents' forecasts are accurate 75% to 90%.[23] A Canadian study for 13 cities in the past 30 to 40 years puts success rate level at 37%.[23] Also, the National Climatic Data Center reportedly has stated that the overall predictions accuracy rate is around 39%.[24] WKBW-TV meteorologist Mike Randall put it a different way: since there are always six more weeks of winter after Groundhog Day, and the concept of early spring in the astronomical sense simply does not exist, then whenever the groundhog sees its shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter, the groundhog is always right, but whenever it predicts an early spring, it is always wrong. The results have an approximate 80% rate of accuracy, the average percentage of times a groundhog sees its shadow.[25] Predictions by year Date   Prediction   Groundhog   Location   2010 Early Spring[26] Jimmy the Groundhog Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 2010 Early Spring[27] General Beauregard Lee Snellville, Georgia 2010 6 More Weeks of Winter[28] Malverne Mel Malverne, New York 2010 Early Spring[29] Staten Island Chuck Staten Island (New York City) 2010 Early Spring[30] Woodstock Willie Woodstock, Illinois 2010 6 more weeks of winter[31] Wiarton Willie Wiarton, ontario 2010 6 more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 2010 6 more weeks of winter Spanish Joe Spanish, ontario 2010 Early spring[32] Dunkirk Dave Dunkirk, New York 2010 Early Spring[33] Buckeye Chuck Marion, Ohio 2010 Early Spring[34] Balzac Billy Balzac, Alberta 2010 6 more weeks of winter Shubenacadie Sam Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia 2010 Early Spring[35] French Creek Freddie French Creek, West Virginia 2010 6 more weeks of winter[36] Chuckles Manchester, Connecticut 2010 6 more weeks of winter[37] Woody Howell, Michigan