Since 1886, when the tradition began, Groundhog Day has been held on Feb. 2 every year. But it wasn’t always about a groundhog coming out of the ground to assess his shadow. The tradition came from a Christian religious holiday called Candlemas Day, according to The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website.

Punxsutawney Phil. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and other celebrants gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney this morning in order to consult with Pennsylvania’s most beloved groundhog and discover whether or not he saw his shadow.

The Massachusetts groundhog has been making weather predictions since 2008, and she became the official state groundhog in 2014.

With the start of February, we turned to our favorite critters for an update. Here's what Punxsutawney Phil and Hope, Indiana's groundhog, predicted.

The Germans eventually began to believe that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow — predicting six more weeks of harsh winter weather. And it was the Germans who brought this belief to the United States.

Lander Lil, the famous Wyoming prairie dog who predicts the weather better than Punxsutawney Phil, didn’t see her shadow Sunday. Also, no one shot at

Punxsutawney Phil revealed his 2025 Groundhog Day forecast on Sunday, Feb. 2, at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The small town, known as the “weather capital of the world,” has used a groundhog to predict the weather for 139 years: If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter, while no shadow means an early spring.