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'Groundhog' weatherman speaks
02/02/2008 22:28 - (SA)
Washington - America's favourite weatherman - or weather- marmot - "Punxsatawney Phil" on Saturday predicted that the country would experience six more weeks of winter.
February 2 is known as Groundhog Day in the US, and according to tradition a groundhog (a type of marmot) ceases hibernation on this day, and can predict the oncoming of spring.
In a ceremony in the town of Punxsatawney in the US state of Pennsylvania, Phil the Groundhog was "asked" if he saw his shadow, and thus denoting another month and a half of wintry weather. Alas, the "answer" was yes.
Attracting 30 000 visitors to Punxsatawney yearly, the Groundhog Day ceremony dates back to 1887, and according to researchers is probably the result of marriage of legends from local Amerindian natives and German settlers.
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