On what date is Groundhog Day celebrated?

Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2 each year.

The date comes from the Christian feast of Candlemas, observed midway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. European Candlemas traditions held that clear weather signaled more winter, while cloudy weather suggested spring was near. German immigrants in Pennsylvania adapted the custom around the groundhog, a native animal that emerges from hibernation in late winter.

The best-known observance takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Punxsutawney Phil appears at Gobbler’s Knob. The 1993 film Groundhog Day helped turn the date into an internationally recognized pop-culture event. February 2 is sometimes confused with the film’s repeated calendar date or with the broader beginning of meteorological spring on March 1, but the holiday itself is fixed on February 2.