Celebrating February

Originally, this column started out to be about Groundhog Day, but as I began researching, I soon discovered an interesting and different subject.

February is the oddball month:

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November.

February has 28 alone,

All the rest have 31.

Except Leap Year; that’s the time

When February’s days are 29.

A leap year has 366 days and rolls around every four years. The next one is in 2008. The secret to calculating leap years is that four must evenly divide them.

The century years are leap years if they can be evenly divided by 400, such as the years 2000 and 4000.

The next February with five Sundays is 2032; this happens every 28 years.

The first Roman calendar had 10 months with March being the first month of the year. Then January and February were added with February being the last month of the year. Ultimately, January became the first month and February the second and it has remained that way since about 800 B.C., give or take 100 years.

A couple of Roman emperors— Julius Caesar and Augustus—added and deleted a day. Augustus deducted a day from February and added it to his namesake month August.

February is a busy, busy month for being the shortest.

For starters, there are some austere birthdays–Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Monday, Feb. 21 is a federal holiday and Feb. 9 was Ash Wednesday.

Well-known February observances are American Heart Month, American History Month and Black History Month.

But, did you know about Bird Feeding Month, Candy Month, Chocolate Month, Cat Health Month, Condom Month, Dental Month, Potato Lovers Month, Sinus Pain Awareness Month and Snack Food Month?

There are dozens more observances, but you get the idea.

There are 16 weekly observances including Burn Awareness Week, Consumer Protection Week, Flirting Week, Pancake Week, Love Your Pet Week and Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

On a daily basis, we observe about three different events each day.

Special days include Robinson Crusoe Day, Polar Bear Day, New Zealand Flag Day, White Shirt Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Gum Drop Day, Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, Pancake Tuesday, Floral Design Day and Repetitive Strain Injuries Awareness Day.

Plus, let’s not overlook Groundhog Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Boy Scout Day, the Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras and World Marriage Day.

What about birthdays in February?

We have Lisa Marie Presley, Christie Brinkley, Cindy Crawford, Farrah Fawcett, Morgan Fairchild, David Brenner, Red Buttons, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Dean, Mia Farrow, Burt Reynolds, Kim Novak, Gregory Hines, Cybil Shepherd, John Travolta, Jeff Daniels, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Alice Cooper, Al Kooper, Smoky Robinson, Michael Bolton, Roberta Flack, Sidney Poitier, Kelsey Grammar, Matt Dillon, Drew Barrymore, Peter Fonda, Sean Austin, Barbara Hershey, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Wagner and Jimmy Dorsey.

A few other notables worth mentioning are: Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, James Joyce, John Steinbeck, Emma Bombeck, Prince Andrew of England, Princess Stephanie of Monoco, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Ronald Reagan, Edward Kennedy, Chelsea Clinton, Ralph Nadar, Dan Quayle, Mario Andretti, Charles Lindberg, Galileo and Renoir.

Also competing for days are Frank Tarkenton, Babe Ruth, Mark Spitz, Hank Aaron, Roger Staubach, John McEnroe and Michael Jordan.

There are others, but you’re in good company if you burst upon the scene in February as an Aquarius or Pisces wearing an amethyst.

So we’ll dish the dirt on groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Day next time. Until then, we can look forward to Gambia Flag Day.

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