While February is known to be full of paper hearts and chocolate, it has a few things going for it, despite being the shortest month on the calendar. February gets to the heart of the holidays that educate and make us giggle at the quirky ones too. February isn’t just about love; it’s more well-rounded than you think.
First off, let’s cover a little history of the second month in the year. February joined the calendar with January around 700 B.C. During the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, celebrants used thongs made from goatskin in purification rituals, which took place during the month, earning it the name februarius.
February wasn’t always second. When Numa Pompilius first added February to the calendar in 700 BC, he placed it at the end of the calendar. That’s right, February was the last month on the calendar. The adjustment aligned the calendar with the lunar cycle. However, Roman superstition avoided even numbers so the calendar resulted in every month having 29 days except one – February. Numa Pomplius placed this unlucky short month at the end of the year. And there, February remained for nearly 200 years when January and February moved to the beginning of the year.
Julius Caesar attempted to align the calendar with the solar season creating the Julian calendar. Under the current Gregorian calendar, the leap year functions differently. Leap years are divisible by four, with one exception. Centennial years must be divisible by 400.
Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?
February Months
- National Cancer Prevention Month
- National Fasting February
- National Self Check Month
- National Enrolled Agents Month
- Free and Open Source Software Month
- American Heart Month
- An Affair to Remember Month
- Black History Month
- Canned Food Month
- Creative Romance Month
- Great American Pies Month
- National Bake for Family Fun Month
- National Bird Feeding Month
- National Cherry Month
- National Children’s Dental Health Month
- National Grapefruit Month
- National Heart Month
- National Hot Breakfast Month
- National Library Lover’s Month
- National Snack Food Month
- National Weddings Month
- National Embroidery Month
- Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Weather & Seasons
February is the third month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the snowiest month of the year. The Southern Hemisphere is wrapping up the last summer month. It should be no surprise that the full moon in February is named the Snow Moon. Keep in mind, though, that since February is a short month, it sometimes doesn’t even have a full moon.
What’s Your Sign?
Interestingly, one of the earliest flowers to bloom in February is the primrose which even blooms through the snow. It is also February’s birth flower.
If you are born in February, you are either an Aquarius or a Pisces. Both are water signs, Aquarius represented by the water bearer and Pisces represented by a pair of fish. Your birthstone is the pretty purple quartz called amethyst.