On February 2, 2010 - halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox- will be celebrated the Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, an annual event in the United States that is said to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

The event will be broadcasted live Tuesday morning by the Pennsylvania Visitors Bureau at www.visitPA.com/groundhog. Festivities are scheduled to begin at 3:00 a.m.

According to the Groundhog Day's website, on February 2, a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil comes out of its burrow. If Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring, goes the legend.

The story of Groundhog Day begins with Candlemas, a Christian holiday brought from Roman legions to the Germans and from German immigrants to Pennsylvania. On Candlemas candles were blessed and distributed: If celebrators declared clear skies on that holiday that meant a longer winter. The Germans concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or “Second Winter.”

Pennsylvania