February

Information about February

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February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 29 days in leap years, when the year number is divisible by four (except for years that are divisible by 100 and not by 400 in the Gregorian calendar). In common years the month has 28 days. Leap year birthdays are usually celebrated on the 28th in a non-leap year. Some believe that February originally had 29 days (30 in a leap year), but that idea was invented by Sacrobosco during the Middle Ages. See Month lengths.

February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 in the old Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 700 BCE. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BCE), when it became the second month. At certain intervals Roman priests truncated February to 23 or 24 days and inserted a 27-day intercalary month, Intercalaris, after February to realign the year with the seasons. See from Roman to Julian. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, …, December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, February continued to be the second month whenever all twelve months were displayed in order.

February begins, astronomically speaking, with the sun in the constellation of Capricornus and ends with the sun in the constellation of Aquarius. Astrologically speaking, February begins with the sun in the sign of Aquarius and ends in the sign of Pisces.



Historical names for February include the Anglo-Saxon terms Solmoneth (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne's designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month of the pearl"; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice.

Many people pronounce "February" with a round 'u' instead of an open 'u' vowel, which forces the first 'r' to be eclipsed, viz. 'FEB-yoo-air-ee' (IPA:/ˈfɛbjuˌɛri/) instead of 'FEB-roo-air-ee' (IPA:/ˈfɛbruˌɛri/). That is, it elides into first half of the trailing diphthong. Otherwise, the flanking mid vowel ('e') and back vowel ('u'), combined with the final -ry syllable (front vowel 'ee') make the 'br' difficult for Anglophones to pronounce in the first place. The problem does not usually arise for Scotiaphones, however. The Scottish names for the month are "Feberwary" and "Februar," the latter usually pronounced with a long "ay" vowel in the first syllable.

Walter Cronkite regularly noted, in a facetious manner, the alternate pronunciation on his first February broadcast of the CBS Evening News, year after year.

Events in February

Full month

Non-specific days

Specific days

Trivia

  • February begins on the same day of the week as March and November in a common year, and on the same day of the week as August in a leap year.
  • Sweden had a February 30 in 1712.
  • February in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to August in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.
  • February's birthstone is amethyst.
  • February's birth flower is the violet or primrose.
  • The Chinese floral emblem of February is the peach blossom.
  • February is the most commonly misspelled month (as Febuary, a phonetic spelling error).

See also

External links

Months and days of the year
January0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
February1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
March0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
April1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
May1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
June1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
August1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
September1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
October1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
November1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
December    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
February 1 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 672 - Death of Saint Chad, whose feast day this is.

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February 3 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 4 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 5 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 6 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

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February 8 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

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February 9 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

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February 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 1355 - The St.

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February 11 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.

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February 12 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 13 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed.

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February 14 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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February 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 399 BC - The philosopher Socrates sentenced to death.

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February 16 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 17 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 18 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 19 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 20 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment.

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February 21 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria.

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February 22 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 23 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 24 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

By Roman custom February 24
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February 25 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.

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February 26 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era.

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February 27 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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February 28 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 364 - Valentinian I is elevated as Roman Emperor.

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For the Egyptian hawk-god, see .


The month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which is approximately as extensive as some natural period related to the motion of the Moon.
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A year (from Old English gēr) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit.
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