Groundhog Day

While Pennsylvania may look to Punxsutawney Phil for a weather prediction, the Chicago area turns to Woodstock Willie, a local, plump groundhog who lives in ...

"Folklore from Germany and France indicated that when marmots and bears came out of their winter dens too early, they were frightened by their shadow and retreated back inside for four to six weeks," the post continues. "This was adopted by the Romans as Hedgehog Day. But with a morning in the 20s, it will be much chillier, so "don't forget your booties cause it's coooooold out there!" 2 were awoken from their slumber to perform their annual yet crucial Groundhog Day duty: Prognosticate on the weather. According to the humans of the At approximately 7:07 a.m.

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Woodstock Willie saw his shadow Thursday morning, predicting six more weeks of winter. Woodstock's Groundhog Day celebration kicked off ...

There's a big celebration for Groundhog Day getting underway in northwest suburban Woodstock. Some guests came all the way from Spain to celebrate Groundhog Day in Woodstock. Celebrating Groundhog Day in Woodstock; Willie predicts six more weeks of winter

The McHenry County town is marking the occasion all weekend with screenings, pancake breakfasts, dances and tours of filming sites.

Thought bubble: I grew up right outside Woodstock and watched the filming in 1992. The town isn't letting that little fact stop them, as they have dubbed a local weather-wise woodchuck "Woodstock Willie." Context: Woodstock sits about 60 miles northwest of Chicago.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — (AP) — A furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town has predicted six more weeks of winter during an annual Groundhog Day celebration.

While Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer, he's certainly not the only one. [gathered Thursday at Gobbler's Knob](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqZnhsUakIU) as members of Punxsutawney Phil's "inner circle" summoned the groundhog from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow — and they say he did. According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times. The If he doesn't, spring comes early. [2021](https://apnews.com/article/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-prediction-85527080ccef649d2807bfa4804fec25) and [2022 forecasts](https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-groundhog-day-punxsutawney-c6179b6609274d43eb371363d2d816b5) also called for six more weeks of winter.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 02: A movie screen at Snappy Burger drive-thru hamburger stand and drive-in movie theater displays images of cast members Bill ...

[‘Scream’](http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/12/scream_celebrates_its_20th_ann.html) [‘Romeo + Juliet’](http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/11/romeo_juliet_turns_20_where_ar.html) [‘Dirty Dancing’](http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/08/celebrate_dirty_dancing_turnin.html) [‘The Big Lebowski’](http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/02/fun_facts_about_the_big_lebows.html) [‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’](http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/10/i_know_what_you_did_last_summe.html) [30 guest stars on ‘The Office’](https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/j66j-2020/01/9d6ad945495235/30-actors-and-other-celebrities-who-appeared-on-the-office.html) [10 famous directors who shot episodes of ‘The Office’](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/05/10-hollywood-notables-who-directed-an-episode-of-the-office.html) [25 fun facts about ‘Friends’ [88 celebrities who were born in Canada](https://www.cleveland.com/expo/life_and_culture/erry-2018/06/417eb995ba8984/88_celebrities_you_might_not_k.html) [15 fun facts about ‘How I Met Your Mother’](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/01/how-i-met-your-mother-fun-facts-15-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-show.html) [15 fun facts about ‘Yellowstone’](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/01/yellowstone-trivia-15-fun-facts-about-the-hit-paramount-network-show-you-might-not-know.html) [20 fun facts about ‘A Christmas Story’](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/11/a-christmas-story-fun-facts-20-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-film-and-its-cleveland-connections.html) [15 celebrities who appeared on ‘Saved By the Bell’](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/11/15-celebrities-who-appeared-on-saved-by-the-bell.html) [‘The Office’ fun facts](https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/j66j-2020/03/f3343f1e272520/the-office-fun-facts-15-interesting-things-about-the-show-in-honor-of-its-anniversary.html) Keaton went on to work with Ramis and MacDowell in the film ‘Multiplicity’ [‘Love Actually’](https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/11/b0683c2d4d1343/love-actually-turns-15-fun-fac.html) Check out the entire list below and then browse prior fun facts lists about movies and tv shows. It won an Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It was just over 30 years ago when “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell premiered in theaters.

While Punxsutawney Phil gave his annual prognostication at Gobbler's Knob, four Lancaster County groundhogs − Octoraro Orphie, Mount Joy Minnie, Poppy and M.T. ...

By Brendan O'Brien. (Reuters) - The celebrated groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his Pennsylvania burrow on Thursday and saw his shadow, ...

2, evolved from an ancient ritual brought to America by German immigrants who settled in what is now the state of Pennsylvania. The first official celebration of Groundhog Day was in 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. According to folklore, if the rodent sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, then frigid and blustery weather will persist for six weeks.

"Well it's groundhog day... again..." but thankfully fictional weatherman Phil Connors was able to break his curse 30 years ago to finally see February 3, ...

As the classic Bill Murray time-loop romcom reaches 30, and the imitators that reuse its concept keep on coming – from Palm Springs to Russian Doll – we ask ...

But it was possibly only the experience of filming it he loathed, as he has since described it as his finest work and said Rubin was “touched by God” when he came up with the idea. Groundhog Day was released in the US in February 1993. Rubin points out that in Groundhog Day, the worst day of Phil Connors’ life takes place under the exact same conditions as the best day of his life. The Academy Award-winning 2020 short film [Two Distant Strangers](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/22/worst-version-of-groundhog-day-ever-two-distant-strangers-the-oscars-short-inspired-by-george-floyd) tells the story of a black graphic designer in New York who is shot dead by a police officer, only to wake up and repeat the same trauma every day. [The Map of Tiny Perfect Things](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/09/the-map-of-tiny-perfect-things-review-time-loop-romcom-amazon) in 2021 and Meet Cute in 2022, Hollywood is currently averaging one a year. “Bill Murray is not a movie star by accident, he understands vanity and self-centredness.” Rubin is kinder, merely saying that Murray was “not afraid to be cruel”. Generosity and Murray may not have always gone hand in hand, but he may have felt a debt was owed to Rubin’s story. He was being very generous to the show.” On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was exaggerating just to try to help us along. “I think I just opened up a new way of telling a story that people could look at and go: ‘Oh, I could use that to tell a different story,’” Rubin says now. Rubin also had to act as an early buffer between Murray and Ramis, who had been regular collaborators since the 1970s but fell out during the making of the film. And not only because “Groundhog Day” has become shorthand for the drudgery of any endlessly repeating scenario.

What would be the worst day to re-live as a Phillies fan?

Chris Carpenter was the hero, tossing a 3-hit complete game on the road and besting Phillies ace Roy Halladay.— Cardinals Dude (@Turn2Dude) Unfortunately, for baseball fans, we’re currently right in the middle of the sport’s long winter where not much newsworthy is happening. (I fully reserve the right to take back this statement five weeks from now when I’m sick of freezing my butt off.)

Punxsutawney Phil has only been accurate 40% of the time over the last 10 years, according to data from NOAA.

North of the border, Canadians in Nova Scotia turn to [Shubenacadie Sam](https://wildlifepark.novascotia.ca/shubie-sam.asp). German immigrants brought this tradition to Pennsylvania, and in 1886 the editor of Punxsutawney’s newspaper teamed up with a group of groundhog hunters to begin the legend of Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prowess. [shooting the film with Murray was “difficult,”](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/groundhog-day-anniversary-bill-murray-andie-macdowell-1235310951/) because a rift had formed between the duo that lasted two decades. [Woodstock Willie ](https://woodstockgroundhog.org/)presides in Woodstock, Ill., where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. But a co-star that bites you twice, well now, that’s a problem,” Murray said in a 1993 interview with The Inquirer, adding that the crew was banned from using the real Punxsutawney Phil while making the movie because it was filmed in Woodstock, Ill. Live Science did an analysis of the data last year and concluded [Phil’s six-week predictions have been correct just 39% of the time.](https://www.livescience.com/32974-punxsutawney-phil-weather-prediction-accuracy.html) Tens of thousands of groundhog enthusiasts gathered in the small Western Pennsylvania town in the early morning hours to watch the annual ceremony, hosted by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Unfortunately, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Charlotte on the ground, and the groundhog died several days later. He and his predecessors have been making weather predictions since 1981, and he differed from Phil last year by correctly forecasting an early spring. While Chuck doesn’t get near the acclaim, he’s had to deal with more harrowing conditions than his Pennsylvania counterpart. Last year, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter by seeing his shadow. The nation’s most popular marmot saw his shadow Thursday morning after leaving his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney.

Celebrate Groundhog Day beyond Punxsutawney Phil by streaming the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray. Here's where you can stream it.

And if Phil and Chuck predict more wintry days to come, consider [upgrading those worn-out snowboots](https://nypost.com/article/best-snow-boots-for-women/), too. [FuboTV](http://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=2229206&subId1=nyp), [Amazon Prime](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime/?tag=nypost-20&asc_refurl=https://nypost.com/article/how-to-watch-bill-murrays-groundhog-day-movie/&asc_source=web), [SlingTV](https://sling-tv.pxf.io/c/2229206/1132376/14334?subId1=nyp-RU--&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sling.com%2F) and [Philo](https://go.skimresources.com?id=93051X1547088&xs=1&xcust=nyp-RU--&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe%3Fref%3Dtry.philo.com). [FuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=2229206&subId1=nyp), $75/month with a seven-day free trial [Amazon Prime](https://www.amazon.com/Groundhog-Day-Bill-Murray/dp/B000SP1SH6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Groundhog+Day+movie&qid=1612209796&sr=8-1&tag=nypost-20&asc_refurl=https://nypost.com/article/how-to-watch-bill-murrays-groundhog-day-movie/&asc_source=web), $8.99/month included with AMC + on Amazon, or $3.99 to rent [SlingTV,](https://www.sling.com/)$20/month with a three-day free trial [Philo](https://go.skimresources.com?id=93051X1547088&xs=1&xcust=nyp-RU--&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe%3Fref%3Dtry.philo.com), $25/month with a seven-day trial Thankfully, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray is available to stream on a variety of subscription platforms, and here’s where you can watch it. If he doesn’t see his shadow, the spring will arrive early. The hilarious movie also stars Andie MacDowell, Harold Ramis and Chris Elliott. [gotten it right 80% of the time](https://nypost.com/2020/02/02/groundhog-day-predictions-agree-on-an-early-spring/), according to the Staten Island Zoo. [cozy essentials](https://nypost.com/article/best-cozy-gift-ideas/) for now. Only time will tell if we will have to brave more snow and ice this year or have an early reprieve, so the smartest bet is to stock up on [Phil predicting six more weeks of winter](https://nypost.com/2023/02/02/groundhog-day-2023-punxsutawney-phil-prepares-to-make-prediction/) and our more-local pal [Chuck](https://nypost.com/2023/02/02/ground-hog-day-2023-did-staten-island-chuck-see-his-shadow/) declaring that spring is near. [had his own hot take](https://nypost.com/2021/02/02/groundhog-day-2021-chuck-predicts-early-spring/): He predicted an early spring! This year, take a moment to laugh on Groundhog Day 2023 while streaming the classic film of the same name.

Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow this Groundhog Day, meaning we're due for a long winter. Here's what you need to get through six more weeks of winter.

The [best pair of women's winter boots](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/style/best-right-now/best-winter-boots-women) are the Sorel Women's Caribou Boots. The [best space heater we've tested](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/home-outdoors/best-right-now/the-best-space-heaters) is the DeLonghi HMP1500. [winter pair of men’s winter boots](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/style/best-right-now/best-winter-boot-men) are the Kamik NationPlus Boot. [Reviewed](https://www.reviewed.com/) have all your shopping needs covered. [2,000 in 1993 to an average of 10,000 the following years](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/02/03/his-moment-in-the-sun/ba54b852-684f-475b-aa7e-91bba6dc1467/). Not to mention, it’s super soft, easy to clean and its weight provides the perfect amount of pressure. One advantage of a long winter is that you have more excuses to eat warm meals. [Candlemas](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-groundhog-day), in which the number of candles given by clergymen would determine the length of winter. [adhere to proper safety practices](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/home-outdoors/features/space-heater-safety-tips-you-should-know) when using one. The best of them is the Snow Joe SJ-SHLV20, which has a dual handle to minimize back pain and a shape that eliminates the dead lift required from most other snow shovels. If you’re baffled by that statement, we’re here to get you up to speed on what this quirky holiday means and to help you get through the next six weeks of winter. Groundhog Day is one of the quirkier holidays we celebrate.

"Well it's groundhog day... again..." but thankfully fictional weatherman Phil Connors was able to break his curse 30 years ago to finally see February 3, ...

Location scouts for the movie Groundhog Day considered filming the 1993 romantic comedy in Baraboo, Wisconsin, but chose a town closer to Chicago.

”I’m a townie... Murray and Harold Ramis’s families lived in Chicago, so they picked Woodstock, Illinois, for the location to be closer to home. ”We ended up going through the middle of Wisconsin in Baraboo of all places which whimsical is the big word for Baraboo,” Hudgins said.

Hundreds arrived at dawn at its famous gazebo to celebrate Groundhog Day — and the 30th anniversary of the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray. “ ...

“As it went on, you kind of started getting a sense of where the movie was going. Bellairs grew up in Woodstock and was hired as an extra in the film in 1992. Bill Murray is her favorite actor and “Groundhog Day” is her favorite film of his. Woodstock has become a yearly destination for “Groundhog Day” fans to relive the time-loop that Murray’s character Phil Connors found himself. He remembers recruiters coming to the high school. Woodstock has become a yearly destination for “Groundhog Day” fans to relive the time-loop that Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors found himself in. Clemens Dinges said he flew in from Hamburg, Germany, to visit the site of the movie he’s seen at least 10 times. “My best-effort anniversary yet,” he said. “It kind of feels special to be here at the original site. People love the movie. But the town’s fame attracts visitors beyond just Groundhog Day. The film has also attracted permanent residents to Woodstock.

New York City's local groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, did not see his shadow Thursday, signaling an early spring.

the governor tweeted. Lady Edwina of Essex says six more weeks of winter. "Yep. He has an accuracy rate of 39%. The newest member of the four-legged weather crew is Lady Edwina of the Turtle Back Zoo []

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — A furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town has predicted six more weeks of winter during an annual Groundhog Day celebration.

While Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer, he’s certainly not the only one. People gathered Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned the groundhog from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow — and they say he did. According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times.

The celebrated groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his Pennsylvania burrow on Thursday and saw his shadow, a sign of six more weeks of frosty ...

Meanwhile, the U.S. 2, evolved from an ancient ritual brought to America by German immigrants who settled in what is now the state of Pennsylvania. According to folklore, if the rodent sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, then frigid and blustery weather will persist for six weeks.

Pennsylvania may have Punxsutawney Phil, but Illinois has its own weather-forecasting rodent: Woodstock Willie, made famous by the movie “Groundhog Day,” ...

I’d want to get out of that loop the way Bill Murray wanted to get out of that loop. Rubin said the story of Murray’s character “wouldn’t have worked unless there was another story, which is about a community of people who chose to come out at dawn in the dead center of winter, but they do it to be goofy and funny and silly … I don’t want to repeat the same day over and over again. Points in red represent our series COVID-19 Across Chicago; blue marks our series “Chicago Tonight” in Your Neighborhood. “It’ll never get old because I love this woman with all my heart.” But you can get out of it just by changing your perspective.” “Chicago Tonight” is expanding its community reporting. Bill Murray and Andie McDowell do a dance scene up here, the snowball fight’s over there,” said Woodstock Days chair Rick Bellairs at the crack of dawn Thursday, as he stood on a city square gazebo featured in the flick. “You people are nuts!” She (yes, Willie is a female groundhog) was reluctant to leave her tree stump. On that account, maybe he wasn’t all wrong given the 19-degree chill. “The movie was filmed here.

The day has its roots in ancient pagan celebrations of the mid-winter season. In the pagan festival of Imbolc, which was celebrated on February 2nd, people ...

Follow GR on [Google News ](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLQgKIidDQklTRndnTWFoTUtFV2R5WldWcmNtVndiM0owWlhJdVkyOXRLQUFQAQ)and [subscribe here ](https://greekreporter.com/about/newsletter/)to our daily email! However, people still enjoy the tradition and see it as a fun and lighthearted way to celebrate mid-winter. The festival features a variety of events, including a parade, live music, food, and drinks. On the morning of February 2nd, thousands of people gather in Punxsutawney to watch as Phil is taken out of his burrow. The holiday quickly gained popularity and spread to other parts of the United States and Canada. The day has its roots in ancient pagan celebrations of the mid-winter season.

Since the dawn of time people have used many different methods to try and predict the weather, and that includes the use of large rodents.

So, Cameraman Dick Martin and I set out to find the elusive groundhog, profit of spring or winter weather. “Groundhogs very early in fact usually after the first frost in September, go into their burrows and they don’t come out again until late February, early march. If the day is cloudy and the groundhog cannot see it’s shadow it stays out of it’s hole that means spring weather is supposedly on it’s way. That means there’s 6 more weeks of winter weather on the way. Winters here in Northern Maine are usually long and rather nasty, at least nastier than most parts of the country. Here in the county we have our own groundhogs, or woodchucks as I learned growing up, so why should Aroostook County take the word of a groundhog in Pennsylvania?

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (RNS) — Part Hollywood love story and part secular spiritual parable, the 1993 film shows life can be better if we pay attention.

Those lessons included the importance of perspective: In the movie, Connors experiences both the worst day of his life and the best day. “It’s the Hollywood myth that trumps all the other religious myths — annoying man finally gets his stuff together and figures out how to be worthy of the beautiful woman. “It is not that he has a revelation of God’s law,” said Ziporyn. “Realize your true destiny, for only then you will live in the world.” “It has to be in a place that he hates,” said Ziporyn, who has taught about the Buddhist themes in “Groundhog Day” and other films, including “What About Bob?”, which also starred Bill Murray. But she said people who come to the temple, housed in what was built as a Congregationalist church, are often struggling. A Theravada monk originally from Sri Lanka, Bhante Amitha said meditation and good works can help people find relief from the stresses and worries of life. The fact that Connors is stuck in a place he despises reinforces that idea. Those deeds and compassion can help people escape the cycle of samsara. But the Buddhist idea of reincarnation is actually a curse, said Prothero, because it often means reliving the same life over and over. A blizzard blocks the departure of Connors and his colleagues, forcing them to stay overnight. (The movie’s creators chose to [film it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d7kkecft4w) in Woodstock because the city’s historic square and downtown shops meant most of the film could be shot nearby.)

Members of the Discover Columbus Committee report that Cole Lumbus did not see his shadow this Groundhog Day. Pictured left to right are Mayor Pat McCool, ...

Closer to home, Groundhog Day in the Town of Columbus was celebrated with a prediction by the town’s wood spirit mascot, aptly named Cole Lumbus. In the early morning hours, residents of Gobbler’s Knob coaxed Punxsutawney Phil from the tree stump he calls home to learn this year’s prediction. The event, which grew out of the celebration of Candlemas in Northern Europe, was expanded by German folklore to include the furry rodent.

Thirty years after it hit theaters, religious scholars of all faiths still can't stop referencing the secular comedy "Groundhog Day."

And every once in a while, a work of art seems to cross that line.” In a [subsequent lecture](https://www.chzc.org/wenger2.htm), Wenger argued that Groundhog Day not only illustrates the law of karma, but also “parallels Buddhist practice.” “Every once in a while, a book or poem or piece of music or play resonates in ways that we don’t always expect,” he says. In other words, through all of his incarnations in the film, he gets better and better and better. Ramis had long been interested in directing what he called “redemption comedies,” and Groundhog Day ushered in that phase of his career (see also: Bedazzled). “For me it became Siddhartha, the story of a journey through life.” (Though rumors have “I was very taken with the idea that this fellow [Phil Connors] has the opportunity to hone all the things he’s doing wrong until he gets it right.” “I was not shooting for a religious parable or anything necessarily profound when I wrote the original screenplay,” Rubin tells me via email. “One of the themes that Musar teachers explored was that people do the same thing day in and day out, without considering that if they would just change some small thing in their behavior, their lives would improve exponentially,” he says. “I was looking for a nice allegory — some kind of illustration for the idea that Seder night is something that has been honed over many, many different tries. If we’re a jerk, we’re not stuck in being a jerk.” In England, one rabbi compared it to the Book of Jonah

Despite almost no mention of God or religion, the filmmakers of "Groundhog Day" made one of the more spiritual films of the era.

Those lessons included the importance of perspective: In the movie, Connors experiences both the worst day of his life and the best day. “It’s the Hollywood myth that trumps all the other religious myths — annoying man finally gets his stuff together and figures out how to be worthy of the beautiful woman. “It is not that he has a revelation of God’s law,” said Ziporyn. “Realize your true destiny, for only then you will live in the world.” “It has to be in a place that he hates,” said Ziporyn, who has taught about the Buddhist themes in “Groundhog Day” and other films, including “What About Bob?”, which also starred Bill Murray. But she said people who come to the temple, housed in what was built as a Congregationalist church, are often struggling. A Theravada monk originally from Sri Lanka, Bhante Amitha said meditation and good works can help people find relief from the stresses and worries of life. The fact that Connors is stuck in a place he despises reinforces that idea. Those deeds and compassion can help people escape the cycle of samsara. But the Buddhist idea of reincarnation is actually a curse, said Prothero, because it often means reliving the same life over and over. A blizzard blocks the departure of Connors and his colleagues, forcing them to stay overnight. (The movie’s creators chose to [film it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d7kkecft4w) in Woodstock because the city’s historic square and downtown shops meant most of the film could be shot nearby.)