After a week of three consecutive snow days at the castle, Groundhog’s Day has finally arrived! Which leads the knights to ask the question; are we in for a long winter, or an early spring? 

“I think we’re going to have an early spring. This winter’s been really cold, so one can only hope,” sophomore Matthew Hite said.

 A recent poll however shows that the majority of the student body is doubtful that spring will come early this year. A total of 59.8% of students surveyed said that the groundhog will see his shadow, meaning that the ice isn’t melting any time soon. Only 40.2% out of over one hundred respondents believe that spring will be coming in the near future, and warm weather remains a distant memory buried deep under many inches of snow.  

Groundhog’s Day has been around for many years, with the first superstitious celebration taking place on Feb. 2, 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pa. The belief is that if the groundhog sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter will follow. If the groundhog does not see his shadow, then an early spring is on the horizon. While the superstition is seen as a fun tradition, the groundhogs do not actually have a high success rate, with the most famous one, Punxsutawney Phil, only being right about 40% of the time. 

“It really depends on the sun,” junior Rebecca Nauman said, “so the whole thing is a sham.” Whether you believe in the mystical prediction abilities of Phil and the groundhogs or not, temperatures do not appear to be rising, and knights continue to fall on ice and trudge through snow on their way to the dome. 

Early morning on Feb. 2, 2026, people gathered around to watch as Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow. At 7:25 am, in his home Gobbler’s Knob, Phil officially saw his shadow, declaring six more weeks of winter for this year. It looks like the deep freeze at the castle is set to continue, and more snow days may be occurring in the near future.