Groundhog is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada and Australia on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather

You may know Groundhog Day from the 1993 film in which a TV weatherman finds himself reliving the same day over and over again.

The character is played by Bill Murray and he keeps reporting on the annual celebration again and again. This movie then puts Punxsutawney on the map.

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.

Groundhog Day is on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Though not a federal holiday, Americans tune in to see if the famed groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, sees his shadow every year on the same day, Feb. 2.

Groundhog Day is linked to the Christian holiday Candlemas, which is the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The first official Groundhog Day took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney. In 1888, the celebrations for the day made a permanent location at Gobbler’s Knob.

The Groundhog Day ceremony held at Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania, centering on a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, has become the most frequently attended ceremony.