Punxsutawney Phil vs Yahdee? Whose Groundhog Day Prediction is Right?

Yahdee and Lee predicted six more weeks of winter on Groundhog Day at Wehr's Dam in South Whitehall.

Groundhog Day 2013: Yahdee and Lee Predict More Winter

The 'groundhogs' see their shadow on a frigid Saturday morning at Wehr's Dam in South Whitehall.

Will spring come early?  Not according to "groundhogs" Yahdee and Lee, who took a trip by raft down the Jordan Creek in South Whitehall on Saturday morning as some 70 onlookers braved the frigid morning. The "groundhogs" saw their shadow -- which, according to folklore, means six more weeks of winter. In keeping with Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, Grundsau Lodge No. 16 in Orefield hosted the Groundhog Day event at 7 a.m. along the Jordan Creek.  "There’ll be some cold and there’ll be some warm days," said David Adam, the president of Grundsau Lodge No. 16, after Lee (a puppet) whispered to its handlers. "You can get your garden ready the beginning of March," he said. "By St. Patrick’s Day, you can plant your peas." The better-known …

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Groundhog Day Preview: Will Yahdee See his Shadow?

Forget Punxsutawney Phil. On Saturday, Feb. 2, Lehigh Valley "groundhogs" Yahdee and Lee will appear in South Whitehall again to make a prognostication.

  Will Yahdee the "groundhog" see his shadow this year? Punxsutawney has its Phil, but in the Lehigh Valley, Groundhog Day belongs to Yahdee (who has seen a taxidermist) and his grandson Lee (a puppet.) For the sixth time in seven years, Grundsau Lodge No. 16, formed to preserve the language and traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch, will host a Groundhog Day event near Wehr's Dam in South Whitehall. Festivities will get under way at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, with men in top hats, the "groundhogs," and songs sung in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Yahdee and Lee will float on a raft (or sled if the creek freezes) 150 feet down Jordan Creek toward Wehr's dam, then Lee will be brought on land and whisper a prediction to the lodge's president. …

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