This Day in History: br The First Groundhog Day February 2, 1887 Groundhog Day was celebrated br for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob br in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Tradition has it that if a groundhog comes br out of its hole on this day and sees its br shadow, it runs back into its burrow, br predicting six more weeks of winter. No shadow means br an early spring. In 1887, a newspaper editor br declared that Phil, the br Punxsutawney groundhog, was br America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that br have since been known as Phil br are America’s most famous marmots. The 1993 movie, 'Groundhog Day,' br starring Bill Murray, popularized br the usage of the term to mean br something that is repeated over and over.