Groundhog Day

The season's fate rests on the shoulders of one famous rodent: Punxsutawney Phil. Here's everything you need to know about Groundhog Day 2023.

[Ohio's Buckeye Chuck](https://www.marionstar.com/story/news/local/2023/01/27/marions-buckeye-chuck-may-miss-groundhog-day-after-peta-complaint/69841194007/)(groundhog). Critters ranging from an armadillo to a rattlesnake are expected to predict the weather this February. - Louisiana's Cajun Groundhog (groundhog). - Wisconsin's Jimmy (groundhog). Groundhog Day 2023 is Thursday, Feb. You're not the only animal meteorologist. It is not a federal holiday, meaning banks, mail services, trash services, schools, grocery stores, federal offices, local governments, libraries and stock markets will be open. During Candlemas, Christians would light candles to predict how long winter would last. - Alabama's Smith Lake Jake (groundhog). [predicted a longer winter](https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2022/02/02/punxsutawney-phil-predicts-6-more-weeks-winter/9313616002/). [Punxsutawney Phil](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/01/29/groundhog-day-peta-wants-punxsutawney-phil-retire/4607356002/). [winter](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/12/13/when-is-first-day-of-winter-2022-winter-solstice-dates/69689052007/) ever end?

CNN explores Groundhog Day's origins from a tiny event to an American holiday we can all be proud of.

The year 1887 was the year of the “Groundhog Picnic,” Yoder said. Shadeaux of Louisiana and Thistle the Whistle-pig of Ohio, to name a few fellow groundhog weather prognosticators. [per](https://www.groundhog.org/phil-faq) the Groundhog Club. Despite their early practice of noshing on Phil’s family, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club avers that there has only been one Phil since 1886. [1993 film of the same name](https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/health/groundhog-day-movie-lessons-covid-wellness/index.html). In the 1960s, Phil got his name, a nod to “King Phillip,” First, though, the February holiday was known as “Candlemas,” a day on which Christians brought candles to church to be blessed – a sign of a source of light and warmth for winter. In the Celtic year, instead of solstices, there were four dates – similar to the dates we use today to demarcate the seasons – that were the “turning points” of the year. In a terrible twist, the earliest Groundhog Days of the 19th century involved devouring poor Phil after he made his prediction. There was some mysticism attached to the holiday, too, as seen in a And since Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants mostly arrived in the mid-to-late 18th century, it’s likely that the holiday existed for decades earlier than we have recorded, per the Library of Congress. So how did Groundhog Day go from a kooky local tradition to an annual celebration even those of us who don’t worry about winter can find the fun in?

Thirty years ago, director Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell teamed on Groundhog Day, which had a "tense" shoot.

“There was talk of a sequel from the moment it came out, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with that,” he says of the movie. I was always responding to him as, ‘This is earnest and believable, and this is who I am.’ My humor was playing it straight, and I don’t regret doing it that way.” Andie MacDowell, who played producer Rita Hanson, tells THR that it was the favorite of her films and praises Murray for delivering lines in ways that were “always fresh.” She adds, “He’s in touch with that dark side. “It was unfortunate and probably made the movie considerably less fun to make. Cinematographer John Bailey credits the director, who died in 2014, for its unique balance of heart and laughs. “My job was to play it straight to Bill — that was my choice,” MacDowell says. 12, 1993, the film earned $70.9 ($143.6 million today) and won a BAFTA for original screenplay. “It was a tense shoot for a number of reasons,” says Albert, given the conflicts between the pair. Ultimately, the role went to “And that’s how we found an unexpected gem.” Rubin explains that Hanks was one of his initial suggestions because he was afraid that a comedian type would “fall into their schtick,” but that the actor turned down the part. Having followed National Lampoon’s Vacation with 1986’s underperforming Club Paradise, Ramis wanted his next project to aim outside the box.

Six more weeks of winter or an early spring? Punxsutawney Phil will make his prediction Thursday morning at Gobbler's Knob.

Europeans observing Candlemas tracked hibernating hedgehogs to predict when winter would end. After the Pennsylvania Dutch settled in America, they looked ...

on Feb. Feb. The festival, running through Feb. “Hudgins was the coordinator between Columbia Pictures, Harold Ramis and the City of Woodstock,” Bellairs said. Rubin will be at the Thursday prognostication ceremony and then, at 2 p.m. “It was a small gathering, a handful of people,” Bellairs said. The Milwaukee County Zoo's groundhog Gordy will make his expert weather prediction, livestreamed on the Milwaukee County Zoo’s Facebook Page at 9 a.m. And that date is Feb. Beauregard Lee in Georgia and Chattanooga Chuck, who works as “the chief seasonal forecaster” at the Tennessee Aquarium. In 1886, the Punxsutawney (Pa.) Spirit newspaper printed the first news of a Groundhog Day observance. It was a sort of “reimagining” of Candlemas Day, a Catholic midwinter festival that had roots in — you guessed it — a pagan celebration. In six weeks, we’ll be in the middle of March.

We all LOVE the movie Groundhog Day especially on February 2nd. The original ending to the movie had a plot twist...and I'm glad that they didn't do it.

Danny Rubin was a screenwriter for Groundhog Day and he answers the sequel question and other Groundhog Day movie questions below. That means that 11% didn't know that Phil looks at this shadow and predicts the weather. I think that Groundhog Day is one of the most underappreciated holidays and that's why it's my favorite.

It's almost time for a furry weather predictor in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to reveal their winter forecast. But how did this tradition start? Author: The ...

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The most famous groundhog for Groundhog Day is Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA. Phil has been the star of the local ...

This show was produced by Dave Blanchard and edited by Sally Helm. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Gilly Moon and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez.

It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Gilly Moon and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. They'll be trapped in this never-ending groundhog news cycle until they can find a new February 2nd story to tell...something that has nothing to do with one furry prognosticator... This show was produced by Dave Blanchard and edited by Sally Helm. This year, in a cruel twist of fate reminiscent of the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, two Planet Money hosts have found themselves facing a curse. If he does: six more weeks of winter. Groundhog Day 2023

As the iconic February holiday movie 'Groundhog Day' approaches its 30th anniversary, producer Trevor Albert recalled how director Harold Ramis and star ...

Albert's recollection of Murray and Ramis' rift is not the first time those who worked on the production have spoken about their differences. "It was a tense shoot for a number of reasons," the producer told THR. "It was unfortunate and probably made the movie considerably less fun to make. "What I'd want to say to him is just what we tell our children: 'You don't have to throw tantrums to get what you want. Rubin told the outlet at the time that Murray and Ramis' disagreements on the project — the film follows the story of a cynical TV weatherman (Murray) who finds himself reliving the same day over and over again — stemmed from disparate interests in how to approach the film's subject. [Harold Ramis](https://people.com/celebrity/harold-ramis-dies-at-69/) and star [Bill Murray](https://people.com/tag/bill-murray/) developed a conflict during the making of the beloved classic.

On February 4, 1977, the band Fleetwood Mac released their record-selling "Rumours" album. Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie sang one of its songs, "Don't ...

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The most famous groundhog for Groundhog Day is Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA. Phil has been the star of the local ...

While Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil's predictions have become a cultural phenomenon, they have not proven to be very accurate. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has been responsible for the official Groundhog Day predictions made by Phil since the club's founding in 1887. The most famous groundhog for Groundhog Day is Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.