It’s a little into the month, so as usual I’ve missed a few days, but here is a synopsis of what’s being celebrated in February. If you’d like more information about any of the celebrations, you can visit http://www.holidayinsights.com and select February.
First, let’s deal with the month as a whole. February has several titles, including American Heart Month, Black History Month, Canned Food Month, Creative Romance Month, Great American Pie Month, National Children’s Dental Health Month, and National Weddings Month. The third week of February celebrates flirting as it is identified as International Flirting Week. I’m not surprised that February would be Creative Romance Month since it does have Valentine’s Day, but I would have guessed that a month to celebrate weddings would have been June. I’m assuming Great American Pie Month actually deals with pies and not the movie. At least I hope I’m right about that.
Some significant celebratory days for February include the following.
February 1 is National Freedom Day which was established to remind everyone what America stands for. It’s based upon the end of slavery, and since February is also Black History Month, that makes sense. However, if we aren’t very careful folks, we’ll all find ourselves enslaved in entirely new ways. This day should be a reminder to all of us about working to maintain our freedoms.
February 2 is, of course, Groundhog Day, where we rely on a rodent to tell us how much winter is left. This year, our dear groundhog failed to see his shadow, so custom says that spring is just around the corner. In actuality, shadow or no shadow, the Vernal Equinox, and hence the first day of spring, will be March 20.
February 3 is the Day the Music Died, remembering that fatal 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper.
Today, February 5 is National Weatherman’s Day, a day to celebrate the only profession where you can be wrong on a regular basis and still keep your job and be well compensated for it. We love them when they’re right and hate them when they’re wrong.
February 8 is Kite Flying Day. My big question here is, “Really?” A day to celebrate flying kites in the middle of winter doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I can’t imagine it’d be a lot of fun to fly a kite in a blizzard.
February 11 is a busy day. It’s Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day, Make a Friend Day, and White T-Shirt Day. If you celebrate each of these, you will celebrate the idea that stuff happens, get over it and move on, and you might move on by making a new friend who you will convince to wear a white T-shirt in remembrance of the United Auto Workers sit-down strike at General Motors in 1937.
February 13 is Get a Different Name Day. Don’t think that if you want to change your name, this is the only day of the year you can do it. You can generally do it any day court is in session. However, if you’re unhappy with your moniker, maybe today is the day for you.
February 14 is also busy with Valentine’s Day, National Organ Donor Day, and Ferris Wheel Day. The first two make sense. I can’t imagine, though, why anyone would want to be on a Ferris wheel in the middle of February.
February 15 is Singles Awareness Day. I doubt it’s a fluke that it follows Valentine’s Day. I’m thinking the two could be celebrated on the same day as it’s usually obvious on the 14th who is and who isn’t single.
February 16 and 17 are interesting, with Do a Grouch a Favor Day on the 16th and Random Acts of Kindness Day on the 17th. These could go hand-in-hand as well since if you’re doing a grouch a favor, it’s likely to also be a random act of kindness. However, if you find someone doing something especially nice for you on the 16th, you might need to do a quick self-evaluation. You might just find you are indeed a grouch. However, if someone does something especially nice for you on the 17th, you’re just the recipient of a random act of kindness. What a difference a day can make.
February 18 is Presidents’ Day this year. It changes year to year, but it’s always the third Monday of the month. These leaders have had significant influence on our history, and it’s fine and dandy we have a day to celebrate them. However, since it is a national holiday, and since there are other national holidays where schools are required by law to close, I believe this should be one of those. After all, we’ve had 44 different leaders in our country’s history. If we can be required to close for other national holidays to show our respect, it seems this one deserves the same consideration.
February 22 is another busy day with Be Humble Day, Walking the Dog Day, and International World Thinking Day. Oh, the possibilities if all in the world would actually think rather than just accept what they’re told without even asking a single question.
February 25 is Pistol Patent Day, honoring the day in 1836 when Samuel Colt received his patent for the Colt Revolver.
February 26 is Tell a Fairy Tale Day. For those of us who have forgotten our fairy tales, this would be a great time to revisit them. Of course, you probably want to tell the Disney versions rather that the Brothers Grimm versions. Otherwise, it could turn into a dismal day.
February 28 is Public Sleeping Day. If you’re brave enough to fall asleep anywhere, today’s the day for you. Some folks practice this more frequently than just once a year, which is all well and good. I just suggest if you’re falling asleep in public, be a little cautious about where you choose to practice this activity.
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