Punxsutawney Phil, the most well known of the groundhogs, has made his February 2, 2009 Groundhog Day prediction.  See video here.   According to the tiny forecaster there will be six more weeks of cold weather.

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were world champions one more time,” said the announcer at the annual event, as Punxsutawney Phil — the most famous groundhog in the world — gazed out at the cheering crowd.

”And as he looked, ‘a bright sky above me showed my shadow beside me. So six more weeks of winter it will be.’ Oh, woe is us. Woe is us!” [Source: Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil proclaims Super Bowl victory, plus more winter

The 1993 movie, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray is what made Punxsutawney Phil, of the town by the same name in Pennsylvania, the most well known of the groundhogs participating in the tradition. The celebrations in date back to February 2, 1887   The tradition we call Groundhog day goes back to ancient times across numerous cultures, as people celebrated the date because it is midway between the beginning of winter and spring.   The day became a festival day, Candlemas, with candles lit to celebrate the day.  In Catholic church tradition, it became a festival to honor Jesus Christ.

People living many years ago also used that day to predict the weather. Tradition said that if Feb. 2 was sunny, it meant winter would last for six more weeks. If it was cloudy, winter was said to be nearly over.

Now take those traditions and add this: Farmers used to look for the reappearance of hibernating animals to tell them when spring had arrived. Early American settlers relied on the groundhog.

Source: Ever Wondered whether groundhogs can predict the weather?

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• Video: Groundhog Day 2008, Punxsutawney Phil Predicts More Winter Weather

Punxsutawney Phil Video: Groundhog Day 2009

Bringing new meaning and intensity to the phrase, “starting over” Australian Ian Usher says, “I have had enough of my life! I don’t want it any more! You can have it if you like! No, I’m not contemplating suicide, I am going to sell my life!!” Watch the video and read the rest of this fascinating story on Ian Usher’s Web site.

Watch the live event, Groundhog Day 2008 with Punxsutawney Phil, in Punxsutawney, PA right here. And don’t store your winter gear yet.

See also: Punxsutawney Phil Video: Groundhog Day 2009

Brace yourself for more wintry weather. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter.

The rodent was pulled from his stump by members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, top-hat- and tuxedo-wearing businessmen who carry out the tradition.

Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what had essentially been a German superstition.

The tradition is that if a hibernating animal sees a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.

That was the forecast from Gen. Beauregard Lee, Punxsutawney Phil’s counterpart in Lilburn, Ga. Beau did not see his shadow Saturday morning at the Yellow River Game Ranch.

It was the third year in a row the two groundhogs’ predictions differed.

The Daytona Beach news-journalonline.com’s, Mark I. Johnson suggests the nation needs a different prognosticator.

For 122 years, Americans have depended on a furry grayish brown rodent to determine the severity of the last six weeks of winter.

Maybe it is time for a change. Instead of Punxsutawney Phil, the venerable groundhog of Western Pennsylvania, the nation should look to Sammie the Smyrna Seagull for its weather predictions.Phil has a long and distinguished history of seeing his shadow and saddling the country with another month and a half of winter — 96 times — during his tenure, according to Groundhog.org. This fur ball has only predicted good weather 14 times in more than a century of prognostication.

Why count on a creature that obviously prefers rain, snow and cold to sunshine and palm trees? It could be believed Phil just wants another six weeks of hibernation.

Sammie, on the other hand, spends his days in blue skies buoyed by balmy breezes, mooching handouts from tourists. Besides, he has the added talent of being able to hit the windshield of a moving car, or a person’s bare shoulder, from 100 feet up.

Gloomy predictions are not Phil’s fault, according to Mike Johnston, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle.

“We have never claimed Phil is site specific,” he said.

Video: Groundhog Day 2008, Punxsutawney Phil Predicts More Winter Weather

Virginia Tech’s original and moving expression of gratitude.

Several thousands people gathered on Virginia Tech’s Drillfield this morning to form a giant message of thanks to the world for its support after the April 16 massacre.

Photos of the event are posted on hokiesthanktheworld.org.

Dressed in the school colors of maroon and orange, and surrounded by fall foliage of the same hues along the Blue Ridge Mountains, the crowd was arranged to form Tech’s “VT” logo, and under it, “THANKS YOU.”

At 11:10 a.m., a satellite aimed to capture the image as the thousands waved up at the sky.

“We’re very pleased with how it went,” said Peter Sforza, geography department faculty member and coordinator of the event.

Visit the Web site for photographs.

October 16 is National Boss Day. Curious to know the origin of National Boss Day? Andrea Gurwitt of Herald News uncovered the background story.

Legend has it that it was started in 1958 by one Patricia Haroski, a secretary in a State Farm Insurance agency office in Deerfield, Ill. Haroski designated Oct. 16 as the celebratory day because it was her father’s birthday.

To make it official, to dot her i’s and cross her t’s, Haroski registered the day with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Or so the story goes.

That’s efficient and thorough, but it’s news to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“No one here has records of it, and no one here knows how we would be involved,” says John Reid, director of communications for the chamber in Washington. “We don’t have any concept of us as an organization doing that kind of thing.”

By “that kind of thing,” he means registering holidays.

Keep reading as the hunt for National Boss Day origin continues…