History of Groundhog Day

(EndPlay Staff Reports) - Groundhog Day hasn't always featured a little rodent and a horde of media cameras tracking the little critter's movement every Feb. 2.

It's actually connected to Candlemas Day, when Christian clergy in Europe offered blessings and handed out candles to use in the dark of winter, according to the National Weather Service .

The observance occurred at the midpoint of the winter solstice and spring equinox. It also included a similar tradition to today's Groundhog Day: Clear skies on Candlemas Day meant a longer winter was ahead.

Later the custom was carried to Germany with the conquest of the Romans. The Germans then added the practice that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow that predicted six more weeks of bad weather.

Today, Groundhog Day in the United States is all about Punxsutawney, Penn., a town located about 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. That stateside tradition dates back to the earliest European settlers of Pennsylvania, some of whom were German and brought their Candlemas Day traditions to the area in the 1700s.

Because of the large population of groundhogs, the settlers used them instead of hedgehogs, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Day Club , which started in 1887.

The legend of Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was started by a club member who was also the editor of the local paper. He used his newspaper to proclaim Phil as the only official weather procrastinating groundhog, according to the club's website.

One of the earliest references to the American Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry of Feb. 4, 1841, in Morgantown, Penn., according to Stormfax Weather Almanac .

"Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate," wrote storekeeper James Morris.

Not all Groundhog Days go off without incident. In 2009, a groundhog nicknamed Staten Island Chuck bit New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The two are scheduled to meet again on Thursday.