Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund'sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Canadian French: Journée de la marmotte; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. In 2026, the shadow was seen by Punxsutawney Phil, auguring six more weeks of winter.

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. The weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: Dachs) is the forecasting animal, while in Hungary for example the bear serves the same purpose, and badgers were only watched when bears were not around. It is related to the lore that clear weather on the Christian festival of Candlemas predicts a prolonged winter.