Punxsutawney Phil (Groundhog)

Punxsutawney Phil is the name given to a groundhog residing in Young Township near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who is the central figure in Punxsutawney's annual Groundhog Day celebration. On February 2 each year,[1] Punxsutawney holds a civic festival with music and food. During the ceremony, which begins well before the winter sunrise, Phil emerges from his temporary home on Gobbler's Knob, located in a rural area about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of the town. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather.[1] If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring."[2] Punxsutawney's event is the most famous of many Groundhog Day festivals held in the United States and Canada. The event formally began in 1887, although its roots go back even further.[3] Phil first received his name in 1961. The origins of the name are unclear, but speculation suggests that it may have been indirectly named after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prior to 1993, the Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney attracted crowds of approximately 2,000. The popularity of the film Groundhog Day brought significantly more attention to the event, with annual crowds rising to 10,000–20,000 (with the notable exception of 2021 where the event took place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[11][12] The event is also streamed online each year.[13]