Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- It's Groundhog Day and according to reports, the little critter saw his shadow Thursday, meaning six more weeks of winter lie ahead. But, historically, it's also a mythical day of winter wondering that goes back hundreds of years before the birth of Punxsutawney Phil, America's official groundhog forecaster. Advertisement Don Yoder, professor emeritus of folklore at the University of Pennsylvania, says the legend began in the pre-Christian days of Germanic Europe where the winter legend centered on the bear and later, on the badger, KYW reported. The Pennsylvania Dutch, with no badgers on hand, focused on the humble groundhog. Yoder says a Pennsylvania Dutch newspaper editor started a groundhog club in the 1880's that centered on Punxsutawney. Paul Knight, the Pennsylvania state climatologist, this year reaches the same conclusion that Phil did, although from a more scientific route. He says the region appears in line for above average precipitation in February and a "decidedly winter snap" in the first half of March. The spring equinox is March 20.
