Well we made it though the Christmas month of December and the resolution filled month of January, and now February is here and full of great days to celebrate.
This year it’s “Leap Year” with one extra day, 29 instead of the usual 28 which happens about every 4 years so this year it’s a good one!
The very first day to celebrate is Feb 1st which is Freedom Day and celebrates freedom for all Americans.
It commemorates the day 143 years ago that President Lincoln outlawed slavery when he signed the 13th Amendment of the Constitution. Maj. Richard Robert Wright, a former slave, petitioned to create the holiday. President Truman signed National Freedom Day into law in 1948.
So it is fitting that Freedom Day launches Black History Month! Of course there is a plethora of less serious days in February to celebrate like Valentines Day on Feb 14th and some really fun ones like the beginning of the Rio Carnival which starts Feb 2nd and the start of Mardi Gras on Feb 5th.
For those who observe it, this Feb 6th is Ash Wednesday, the begging of Lent. Our former Presidents are represented in Feb on the 12th for President Lincoln, Feb 22nd for President Washington, and many peoples favorite Presidents Day; celebrated on Monday Feb 18th giving many a three day holiday!
I like that one, they couldn’t figure out which President to celebrate so they made up a day for all of them! That’s creative planning if I’ve ever seen it!
Another reason February is a month to celebrate is that one can sense the slow but steady movement of the sun towards spring. High in the sky at noon, the sun now gives us about one full hour more daylight than one month earlier in the year. However, as we know around here, that extra hour isn’t often enough to cut the chill in the air!
But enough of the facts and figures of regular reasons to celebrate February, lets take a peak at a few that most of us don’t know much about.
How about Feb 4th “Spoiled Cats’ Day”? The most popular pets in the world are dogs but don’t tell the cats. People who own these little balls of fur know how independent and royal they are. They were the favorite pets of Pharaohs and I think they remember this.
My personal favorite is Feb 28th which is “Blue Jeans Day” which celebrates replacing canvas pants in 1860 as work pants which became fashionable in 1935 when a model wore them in Vogue Magazine!That alone makes February for me, I’ve been wearing blue jeans all my life and each Feb 28th I put on my best pair!
I hope all of you find a bunch of days in February to celebrate and have some fun at the end of winter!
To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net