Gobbler's Knob

Punxsutawney Phil is the name of a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. On February 2 (Groundhog Day) each year, the town of Punxsutawney celebrates the legendary groundhog with a festive atmosphere of music and food. During the ceremony, which begins well before the winter sunrise, Phil emerges from his temporary home on Gobbler's Knob, located in a rural area about 2 miles (3 km) south-east of town. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring." The date of Phil's prognostication is known as Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada, and has been celebrated since 1887. Punxsutawney Phil became an international celebrity thanks to the 1993 movie Groundhog Day.

A select group, called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, takes care of Phil year-round and also plans the annual ceremony. Members of the Inner Circle are recognizable by their top hats and tuxedos. The Vice President of the Inner Circle prepares two scrolls in advance of the actual ceremony, one proclaiming six more weeks of winter and one proclaiming an early spring. At day break, on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil awakens from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob, is helped to the top of the stump by his handlers, and explains to the President of the Inner Circle, in a language known as "Groundhogese", whether or not he has seen his shadow. The President of the Inner Circle, the only person able to understand Groundhogese through his possession of an ancient acacia wood cane, then interprets Phil's message, and directs the Vice President to read the proper scroll to the anxiously anticipating crowd gathered on Gobbler's Knob and the masses of "phaithful phollowers" tuned in to live broadcasts around the world.

The Inner Circle scripts the Groundhog Day ceremonies in advance, with the decision on whether or not Phil will see his shadow made beforehand. The Inner Circle maintains kayfabe throughout the year, never acknowledging the ruse, and its criteria for whether or not spring will arrive early is a trade secret. The Stormfax Almanac has made note of the weather conditions on each Groundhog Day since 1999; the Almanac has recorded 12 incidents in a 20-year span in which the Groundhog was claimed to have seen his shadow while the sky was cloudy or there was rain or snow coming down, and one case in which the groundhog did not see his shadow despite sunshine.

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Wikipedia