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February

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February(Feb.) is the secondmonthof theyearin theJulianandGregorian calendars,coming betweenJanuaryandMarch.It has 28 days incommon years,and 29 days inleap years.This was to make the calendar match to the rest of the world. In1930and1931,February had 30 days in theSoviet Unionbecause the government changed all the months to be 30 days long. The name comes either from the Roman god Februus or else from "februa", the festivals of purification celebrated in Rome every fifteenth of this month.

February begins on the same day of the week asMarchandNovemberincommon years,andAugustinleap years.February always ends on the same day of the week asOctober,and additionally,Januaryincommon years.

The Month

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Chocolates forValentine's Day,February 14.

February is one of the last two months to be added to the calendar at the beginning of the year (the other is January). This is because in the originalRoman calendar,the two months ofwinter,when not much would happen in agriculture, did not have names.

February is the second month of the year, coming betweenJanuaryandMarch,and is also the shortest month, with 28 days in acommon year,and 29 days in aleap year.

February begins on the same day of the week asMarchandNovemberin common years and on the same day of the week asAugustin leap years. February ends on the same day of the week as January in common years andOctoberevery year, as each other's last days are exactly 4 weeks (28 days) and 35 weeks (245 days) apart respectively. In aleap year,February is the only month to both begin and end on the same day of the week.

Every year, February starts on the same day of the week asJuneof the previous year, as each other's first days are exactly 35 weeks (245 days) apart. In common years, February finishes on the same day of the week asMayof the previous year, and in leap years,AugustandNovemberof the previous year.

In common years immediately before other common years, February starts on the same day of the week asAugustof the following year, and in leap years and years immediately before that,Mayof the following year. In years immediately before common years, February finishes on the same day of the week asJulyof the following year, and in years immediately before leap years,AprilandDecemberof the following year.

February is also the only month of the calendar that, once every six years and twice every 11 years consecutively, either back into the past or forward into the future, will have four full 7-day weeks. In countries that start their week on a Monday, it occurs as part of a common year starting on Friday, in which February 1st is a Monday and the 28th is a Sunday, this was observed in 2021 and can be traced back 11 years to 2010, 11 years back to 1999, 6 years back to 1993, 11 years back to 1982, 11 years back to 1971 and 6 years back to 1965, and will be observed again in 2027 In countries that start their week on a Sunday, it occurs in a common year starting on Thursday, with the next occurrence in 2026, and previous occurrences in 2015 (11 years earlier than 2026), 2009 (6 years earlier than 2015), 1998 (11 years earlier than 2009) and 1987 (11 years earlier than 1998). This works unless the pattern is broken by a skipped leap year, but no leap year has been skipped since 1900 and no others will be skipped until 2100.

From circa 700 BC, when Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, added it to the calendar, February had 23 days and 24 days on some of every second year, until 46 BC when Julius Caesar assigned it 29 days on every fourth year and 28 days otherwise.Leap yearDay,February 29,is added in every year that can be divided equally by four, such as2012and2016,but this does not apply when the year ending in "00" at the turn of thecenturydoes not divide equally into 400. This means that1600and2000wereleap yearsin theGregorian calendar,but1700,1800,and1900were rather common years. This is where theJulian calendarcalculated dates differently, as it always repeatedFebruary 29every four years.

February is awintermonth in theNorthern Hemisphereand asummermonth in theSouthern Hemisphere.In eachhemisphere,it is theseasonalequivalent ofAugustin the other. Inweatherlore,Groundhog Day,in theUnited States,is set to decide what the weather will be like for the rest of thewinter.

February's flower is thevioletand itsbirthstoneis theamethyst.The meaning of the amethyst is sincerity. Thezodiacsigns for February areAquarius(January 21toFebruary 19), andPisces(February 20toMarch 20).

Events in February

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Fixed Events

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Groundhog Daycelebration onFebruary 2.
AValentine's Daycard forFebruary 14in the early 1900s.
February 29shown in a Swedish pocket calendar.

Moveable and month-long Events

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LanternsmarkingChinese New Year.

Selection of Historical Events

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Flooding in theNetherlandsonFebruary 1,1953.
James Cookis killed inHawaiionFebruary 14,1779.
The trail left by themeteoriteoverChelyabinskonFebruary 15,2013.
Damage inChileafter the2010 Cauquenes earthquakeonFebruary 27,2010.

Trivia

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TheViolet.
Monthsof theYear

January| February| March| April| May| June| July| August| September| October| November| December

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