Happy Groundhog Day!

Muad Dib · Feb 2, 2007

Bucking a trend, Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see shadow
POSTED: 9:52 a.m. EST, February 2, 2007

Story Highlights
• According to German folklore, folks can now expect an early spring
• 15,000 people celebrated in Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people
• Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.

Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999. (Fuzzy Phil makes his prediction, the crowd goes wild )

More than 15,000 revelers milled about in a misty snow waiting for the prediction, as fireworks exploded overhead and the "Pennsylvania Polka" and other music blared in the background.

Sammi Gainor, 17, said she and her father first attended the ceremony about four years ago. "Since then it's really been just good memories of things I do together with my dad," she said.

"It's just kind of fun seeing people go so crazy about a groundhog," Richard Gainor said.

Longtime handler Bill Deeley retired and was replaced Friday by Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle members John Griffiths and Ben Hughes.

"It's a lot of work, but it's exciting to know you're a part of one of the most phenomenal parts of American folklore," Hughes said.

Each February 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of 6,100 people about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what had essentially been a German superstition.

The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow February 2 -- the Christian holiday of Candlemas -- winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

Rick McFerron, an administrator at Indiana University of Pennsylvania some 30 miles away, walked the whole way to the ceremony to celebrate his 60th birthday and to raise money for breast cancer research.

He said he was skeptical of the groundhog's prediction.

"It's supposed to get bitter cold this weekend," McFerron said.

SOURCE
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I hope the groundhog is right!

I gotta call the florist. I always get my wife a dozen red roses for Groundhog Day.

Prufrock · Feb 2, 2007

I hope so, too. It's currently 1°F here, with a wind chill of -16°F!

Dan Leach · Feb 2, 2007

Didnt we do this yesterday,...and the day before that,...and the day before that.....

Lethesoda · Feb 2, 2007

>< Early Spring, here, means "We may get snow in April", or "The weather keeps going crummy...."

shootER · Feb 2, 2007

"People just don't understand what is involved in this. This an art-form! You know, I think that most people just think that I hold a camera and point at stuff, but there is a heck of a lot more to it than just that!"

Sherlock Holmes · Feb 2, 2007

I love the scene when he steals the bag of money.

I wouldn't be suprised is spring comes early... I was saying I thought that it was going to a few days ago because of the way the sun felt the other day.

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Happy Groundhog Day!

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Happy Groundhog Day!

Muad Dib Probably a Dual Deceased Member

Prufrock Disturbing the Universe

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Sherlock Holmes Resurrected

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