February

For other uses, see February (disambiguation).

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. Some believe that February originally had 29 days (30 in a leap year),^{[citation needed]} but that idea was invented by Sacrobosco during the Middle Ages. See Month lengths.

Overview

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 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC), 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.

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February, from the Très riches heures du Duc de Berry

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 the \'u\' of "February" as IPA: /juː/ you rather than /uː/ oo, by analogy with "January", which forces the first \'r\' to be eclipsed, viz. /ˈfɛbjuːɛri/ FEB-yoo-air-ee rather than /ˈfɛbruːəri/ FEB-roo-uh-ree. 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 Scots language names for the month are Feberwary and Februar, the latter usually pronounced with a long "ay" vowel in the first syllable.

Events in February

• Valentine\'s Day: February 14
• Black History Month (United States)

Further reading

• Anthony Aveni, "February\'s Holidays: Prediction, Purification, and Passionate Pursuit," The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 29-46.

See also

• February 29
• Historical anniversaries

External links

• The Straight Dope: How come February has only 28 days?

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