American Marmot Phil predicted a long winter in the United States on Tuesday morning, according to ABC27, which was broadcasting 135 Groundhog Day live from Pennsylvania.
Groundhog Day is celebrated in the United States on February 2. According to legend, on this day you need to closely watch the marmot crawling out of its hole to find out when spring comes. It is believed that if the marmot does not see its shadow and calmly leaves the hole, winter will soon end and spring will be early. If the day is sunny, the marmot sees its shadow and, frightened by it, hides back into the hole – spring will not come soon.
Snowstorms hit the northeastern coast of the United States these days. In the city of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the ceremony is traditionally held, it also snowed lightly in the morning.
Apparently in this regard, the marmot was in no hurry to leave its burrow, which was replaced by an artificial shelter stylized as a fragment of a tree trunk with doors and a sign “Phil”. One of the organizers pulled the animal out of the house himself. It was decided that this would mean a long winter that would last another six weeks.
Punxsutawney’s Groundhog Day usually attracts thousands of spectators, but this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they were forced to watch the ceremony in a virtual format.
