Watch the groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. While the tradition remains popular in modern times, studies have found no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow or not and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.ġ.
It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog (Marmota monax, also called 'woodchuck' Deitsch: Grundsau, Grunddax, Dax) 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, and if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition celebrated in Canada and the United States on 2 February.
