“It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey…”

That’s right, woodchuck-chuckers…it’s Groundhog Day.

At the curiously-named Gobbler’s Knob, in the tiny town of Punxsutawney, Western Pennsylvania, just a few moments ago, the little furry form of Punxsutawney Phil cautiously emerged, sniffed around for a bit…and then quietly muttered in Groundhogese that his own shadow he could see. So according to the seer of seers, the prognosticator of prognosticators, an early Spring is out of the question for 2015.

Legend has it that if the groundhog emerges and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather and if he doesn’t, there will be an early spring. The first documented American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, dated 4th February, 1841, of Morgantown, Pennsylvania, storekeeper James Morris: “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”

However, the tradition of making a small, furry mammal appear and predict the rest of the winter’s weather entered whatever was passing for popular culture in 1887 as a ratings-boosting ploy for the local newspaper. The editor of the rag decided that Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog he evidently had particular affection for, would be the one and only official voice of mammalian weather forecasting for the region, no doubt helping reader figures of the official newspaper partner along the way.

Skip forward nearly 175 years and this quaint local tradition, always conducted on 2nd February, now attracts a crowd of tens of thousands.

Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney

Without a doubt, the annual celebration held in Punxsutawney and made famous by Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day is the most well known event, but there are also simultaneous events held all across the continental USA including, West Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC and even New York’s very own Staten Island, where Staten Island Chuck performs the very same seasonal prediction even though he may have a difference of opinion.

Despite portraying the events that take place in Punxsutawney, the movie Groundhog Day was instead filmed entirely in upstate Illinois and during my drive from Los Angeles to New York in August of last year, my trusty co-driver and I made a point of visiting this tucked-away town to see what all the fuss was about.

It’s not a very big place and there isn’t a great deal to see. The drive to Punxsutawney itself from the freeway is an hour-long undertaking on an almost endless meandering road where the rolling green countryside is punctuated by pockets of sleepy-looking settlements that time has long since forgotten about. You just know that everybody here knows everybody here and life is lived at a snail-like pace. Eventually you reach Punxsutawney with its population of just under 6,000. The epicentre is only about a mile long, with all shops and local amenities focused along N. Main Street. There’s one or two diners and about the same number of small motels, but once a year this serenity gives way to surging crowds of tourists as tens of thousands arrive to pay homage to a small meteorologically-gifted marmot. The event is even broadcast live on the web.

Only twice in the last seven years has Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring and that was in 2013 and 2011 and it’s comes as no surprise given the recent weather on the East Coast of the US, but what did come of some surprise is that Staten Island Chuck disagreed, saying an early Spring was coming. Difficult to take seriously as it snowed all night last night.

One year after the Mayor of New York famously fumbled the writhing rodent, prompting international headlines and possible groundhog unrest, common sense and responsible animal medicine at last dictated a new way. Last year’s Chuck died of internal injuries shortly after the fall, though Mayor de Blasio’s culpability remains an open question, but even local officials acknowledged that many in the crowd this morning, like fans at a stock car race, were drawn to the prospect of a spectacular crash. However, despite cold winds, rain sleet and snow, both celebrities made their annual appearance at Staten Island Zoo and remained safely separated by a plexiglass window.

Mean while the mayor of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin wasn’t quite so lucky when Jimmy, the town’s groundhog, leaned over and bit him. Perhaps he’ll get his revenge by cooking Jimmy and enjoying him for dinner, which people do, supposedly. In fact, there’s a recipe for groundhog right here, which is apparently prepared and treated much like game.

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