Community Corner

It's Groundhog Day!

Will Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck see their shadows?

Today, we will hear from the experts – Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck – as to whether the weather will worsen this winter or the climate will convalesce.

If the groundhog sees his shadow, the winter will continue for six more weeks.

Groundhog Day was first celebrated in the 18th and 19th centuries in Pennsylvania, but bears some similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc and the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar.

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The nation’s largest celebration of the day is held in Punxsutawney, where the famed Phil makes his prognostication.

The five boroughs’ have their own weather-predicting whistle pig – Staten Island Chuck. But a number of other states have their own forecasting rodents, including West Virginia’s French Creek Freddie, Illinois’s Tumbleweed, Georgia’s Gus, North Carolina’s Sir Walter Wally, Connecticut’s Chuckles and Colorado’s Stormy Marmot.

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

How do you plan to spend your Groundhog Day? Take part in Patch’s poll below.


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