Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, features Punxsutawney Phil, who predicts winter's duration by seeing his shadow. This event, dating back to the 1880s, attracts thousands at Gobbler's Knob and millions online. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, consisting of 15 men in top hats and tuxedos, oversees the tradition. Members like Tom Dunkel and A.J. Dereume carry familial legacies with the event, believing in an inherent 'groundhog gene.' Phil, deemed immortal, remains a central figure in this whimsical celebration of weather forecasting.
On Groundhog Day, Dunkel uses the same cane his father once held to rouse Phil from his burrow.
You’ve got to have the gene, we say, you’ve got to have the groundhog gene.
If Phil sees his shadow, it's a sign winter will last six more weeks; if he doesn't, an early spring is on the way.
A tradition dating to the 1880s, Punxsutawney Phil delivers his annual weather prediction on Feb. 2 to thousands of people in person.
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