Most people are thinking about the Super Bowl today. But February 2 also is Groundhog Day. In Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania, the Groundhog Day ceremony centers around a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. It is the most attended event of its kind across the United States.
The tradition derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks. If it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.
While the tradition remains popular in modern times, studies have found no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing or not seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.
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