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
See also
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
frp:Fevriérbe-x-old:Лютыhsb:Februarlij:Frevânds-nl:Febrewaorinrm:Févri
nov:Februareksh:Febrowaavls:Februoarizh-yue:2月 bat-smg:Vasaris
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
