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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, but how much do you really know about Punxsutawney Phil, the great weather predictor?

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Today's Random Fact:

Germans started asking the groundhog about spring as an excuse to drink, eat and be merry. The Pennsylvania Dutch are actually from Germany, aka Deutschland. The first celebrants of Groundhog Day were Pennsylvania Dutch who used the holiday as an excuse to get together and party. Feb. 2 is almost exactly halfway through winter, so what better time to gather together with your friends and neighbors to eat some good food, drink some good drink, and look ahead to the coming spring?




Bonus Fact:

In the 1880s some friends in Punxsutawney, Penn., went into the woods on Candlemas Day to look for groundhogs. This outing became a tradition, and a local newspaper editor nicknamed the seekers "the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club." Starting in 1887 the search became an official event centered on a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil. A ceremony still takes place every year.

Phil's official title is: Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary. Phil was given that name by Freas, the newspaper editor, in 1886 in a series of announcements in his newspaper, The Punxsutawney Spirit.