Can this be true?? Phil, I like your thinking!

Phil at home in his burrow at Gobbler's Knob.

This morning, people all over the U.S. waited to see if a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow when he emerged from his burrow, or underground home.

Why? Legend has it that if Phil wakes up on a cloudy day, he'll stay outside his burrow for a while. That means winter will soon be over. But if the sun is shining brightly, Phil will scamper back inside, frightened by his shadow. Then he will go back to sleep for six more weeks of winter.

This February 2, winter storms clouded Pennsylvania's skies and blanketed the state in snow and ice, so Phil did not see his shadow. Does this mean there will be an early spring?

Many other groundhogs are used to predict winter's end all across the U.S. and Canada. But Phil is from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home to the world's largest Groundhog Day celebration.

People in Punxsutawney wear their top hats and best suits each year for a special ceremony on February 2. They knock on Phil's door, and the excitement builds: Will Phil see his shadow outside his burrow at Gobbler's Knob, where he hibernates (sleeps all winter)?

FACT VS. LEGEND

Groundhog Day began in Pennsylvania during the 1700s. Older traditions in Europe use bears or badgers to predict the weather instead.

Some historians think German immigrants brought the tradition from their homeland, where they celebrated a Christian feast called Candlemas Day on February 2. One legend says, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May."

To this day, many groundhog celebrations held in Pennsylvania forbid any other language from being spoken except Pennsylvania Dutch—a form of German spoken by early settlers in America. People must pay a nickel or dime for every word spoken in English.

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted long winters since 2008. Even though the National Climatic Data Center says that only 39 percent of Phil's predictions have turned out to be correct, people still check to see whether Phil will stay outside for spring or fall back into his winter sleep. This year, Phil looks ready for an early spring! Will his prediction turn out to be true?

Article from ScholasticNews.com