by Frank L. Parker

Created on: September 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 19, 2009

The dawn rises over Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania as 40,000 shivering people wearing heavy coats, gloves, and earmuffs stand amid locals, tourists, and politicians, all braving the cold February weather in eager anticipation of the annual weather prediction of America's second most famous rodent, Punxsutawney Phil. Mickey Mouse is the most famous, as any rodentologist will tell you, however Punxsutawney Phil is no animated character, he is a genuine rodent of the species "marmota monax" aka "woodchuck" aka "groundhog."

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck? Doesn't matter. The driving question on everyone's mind here is, "will the groundhog see his shadow, or will he not?" Children laugh and play, couples hold hands, ski-resort executives and news media pay close attention, and a small brass band plays festive music as a light snowfall adds a frosty white layer to the lush green pine trees. Suddenly, the handlers emerge on stage with a few local politicians, and the crowd erupts in applause. The politicians wave to the masses, though the applause is not for them at all, but rather for the weatherman of the day, Punxsutawney Phil.

Cuter than Al Roker and more accurate than The Weather Channel, Punxsutawney Phil, through many generations, boasts a perfect record over the past 90 years. Phil's meteorological methodology is a simple one: if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. On the other hand, if our furry predictor of weather-to-come does not see his shadow, it is a sure sign that the end of winter is near.

Since 1886 countless numbers of people have attended the Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, and although the roots of Groundhog Day can trace its way to a European ancestry, the festival itself, and use of a groundhog, is a tradition that originated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This festively amusing Pennsylvanian tradition has spread throughout the USA and Canada, and thanks to some great publicity on the silver screen, is known worldwide.

Like a rock star, Punxsutawney Phil, the undisputed King of Groundhog Day, has millions of fans, thousands of onlookers, his own gift shop, and plenty of relatives who have followed in his tiny tracks to become bucktoothed weather prognosticators for their own towns. For example, there is General Beauregard Lee of Georgia, Wiarton Willie of Ontario Canada, and Jimmy the Groundhog (not the most original name) of Wisconsin, to name a few.

The "bad boy" of Groundhog Day is Staten Island Chuck of New York City, whose real name is Charles G. Hogg (leave it to the New Yorker to use an alias). With a mere 80% accuracy rate since 1980, Chuck has been known to disagree with his more famous cousin Phil from time to time. Not only did this deceitful rodent mislead a city of eight million people into believing that winter would end early in 2007, which it did not by the way, he further misbehaved by attacking Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2009! Is there no end to his antics?

While there are Groundhog Day festivals throughout the US and Canada, despite the growing local attention, celebrity guests, or the accuracy of their groundhogs, February 2nd belongs to Punxsutawney PA, where all eyes are on Punxsutawney Phil who sets the standard in "rodentia tempestas scientia." From the Amish farms of Lancaster County, the fun yet underrated City of Pittsburgh, to the classic railroads of Strasburg, and the streets of Philadelphia, there is a lot to love about Pennsylvania, and Groundhog Day, a true Pennsylvania tradition, is at the top of the list. Do not be surprised if on February 2nd you find yourself asking the question, "will the groundhog see his shadow, or will he not?"

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