Groundhog Day has its roots in a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition: If a groundhog emerges from its den and spots its shadow, it’ll return to its den to wait out six more weeks of winter. Conversely, a cloudy, shadow-less day means an early spring.
It’s a whimsical tradition that’s caught — and held — the national attention. Come February 2, the high-tech measures most weather services use to make predictions lose their authority … and the humble groundhog takes center stage (often, with a mayor or other public official to translate his prediction from “groundhog-ese” to English).
Of course, there’s more than just one groundhog. Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil is certainly the most famous, with a tradition that goes back to 1887, but other groundhogs around the country shake off their slumber to participate in prognostications. There’s Chattanooga Chuck in Tennessee and Buckeye Chuck in Marion, Ohio (Staten Island’s Charles G. Hogg also goes by Chuck instead of his more formal full name). General Beauregard Lee makes his guess in Georgia, while Thistle the Whistle-pig reports from Cleveland.