It’s the day when Punxsutawney Phil (that seer of seers, prognosticator of prognosticators) emerges from his Pennsylvania burrow and predicts the coming of spring, and a holy day for Bill Murray fans. The emergence of Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania is hard to nail down, but the most commonly cited tradition says that it’s been celebrated in Punxsutawney for 128 years, since February 2, 1887.

German settlers would have brought European traditions where animals became meteorologists – badgers, bears, and the lowly hedgehog all had such supposed talents. In Pennsylvania, where groundhogs are plentiful, it appears that settlers made do with what they found. The tradition of asking when spring will arrive is probably related to the Irish pagan festival of Imbolc, celebrating the first day of spring around February 1. Marking the first day of a season on its associated equinox or solstice is largely a cultural choice. For those familiar with the tradition of heralding a new season on a cross-quarter day halfway between solstice and equinox (like Imbolc), it might have been genuinely confusing to figure out when spring was coming. Letting the hedgehog, and later groundhog, settle the dispute might have been the easiest solution.

It’s claimed that Punxsutawney’s groundhog was named Pete until 1952, when a careless rookie newsman called him “Phil” in a story posted to the news wire. When the Philadelphia bureau came back requesting a clarification on the groundhog’s name, the scribe supposedly dashed off a reply: “Pete died. Phil is his son.” While Phil (seen here in 2010) is North America's most famous weather-critter, he’s been joined by other local groundhogs over the years, including Staten Island Chuck, Winnipeg Willow, and General Beauregard Lee in Lilburn, Georgia.

In 1993, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray took an already popular minor holiday and gave it iconic status in “Groundhog Day.” Weatherman Phil Connors has no desire to cover the groundhog festival or its related dinner even once (“You know, I had groundhog for lunch”) -- much less over…and over…and over. But the movie has become more than a cult comedy favorite. Some religious leaders, especially Buddhists, have found deeply spiritual themes in Phil’s initially hopeless quest for meaning in endless repetition. Alas, Phil’s inclination that covering Groundhog Day is a waste of time might have been right on: Studies have shown that groundhogs like Phil are only 37-39% accurate when predicting the weather. Which is still better than the guy on your local TV station.

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