![]() Unfortunately, Woodstock's landscape doesn't have Pennsylvania's scenic rolling hills. The highways in and around Punxsutawney were few, so Woodstock, Illinois was chosen as the site. There were, however, many changes made.Ĭolumbia Pictures decided to film the movie in a location more accessible to a major metropolitan center. Then, Columbia Pictures set out to recreate the Punxsutawney Groundhog Day down to the smallest detail. The Groundhog Day festivities on Februwere joined by Bill Murray studying for his role in the movie. In 1997, there were 35,000 visitors in Punxsutawney, five times the Jefferson County town's 6,700 population. Ince the 1993 release of the film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as a TV weatherman (who wakes up and it's Groundhog Day over and over again!) and Andie MacDowell as his puzzled producer, attendance at the real event has expanded. ![]() The legendary first trip to Gobbler's Knob was made the following year. Pennsylvania's official celebration of Groundhog Day began on February 2nd, 1886 with a proclamation in The Punxsutawney Spirit by the newspaper's editor, Clymer Freas: "Today is groundhog day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow." The groundhog was given the name "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary'' and his hometown thus called the "Weather Capital of the World.'' His debut performance: no shadow - early Spring. In Pennsylvania, the groundhog, upon waking from mid-Winter hibernation, was selected as the replacement. If the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of Winter. The earliest American reference to Groundhog Day can be found at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center at Franklin and Marshall College:įebrufrom Morgantown, Berks County (Pennsylvania) storekeeper James Morris' diary."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." If the sun came out February 2, halfway between Winter and Spring, it meant six more weeks of wintry weather. ![]() The day's weather continued to be important. A lighted candle was placed in each window of the home. For the early Christians in Europe, it was the custom on Candlemas Day for clergy to bless candles and distribute them to the people in the dark of Winter. Superstition held that if the weather was fair, the second half of Winter would be stormy and cold. It came at the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. When German settlers arrived in the 1700s, they brought a tradition known as Candlemas Day, which has an early origin in the pagan celebration of Imbolc. The groundhog" considered by them to be their ancestral grandfather. The name woodchuck comes from the Indian legend of "Wojak, "ponksad-uteney" which means "the town of the sandflies." The name Punxsutawney comes from the Indian name for the location According to the original creation beliefs of the Delaware Indians, their forebears began life as animals in "Mother Earth" and emerged centuries later to hunt and live as men. The Delawares considered groundhogs honorable ancestors. The town is 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, at the intersection of Route 36 and Route 119. ![]() Punxsutawney Present Weather | 5-day Forecast n 1723, the Delaware Indians settled Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania as a campsite halfway between the Allegheny and the Susquehanna Rivers. Copyright © 1996-2022 STORMFAX Origins | The Movie | Facts | Year-by-Year
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