February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month is a unit of Time, used with Calendars which is approximately as long as some natural period related to the motion of the Moon; A year (from Old English gēr) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the Orbit of the Earth around the Sun The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the 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). A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing one or more extra days (or in the case of Lunisolar calendars an extra month in order to keep the In common years the month has 28 days. Some believe that February originally had 29 days (30 in a leap year), but that idea was invented by Sacrobosco during the Middle Ages. Johannes de Sacrobosco or Sacro Bosco ( John of Holywood, c 1195 &ndash c See Month lengths. The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita

February starts on the same day of the week as both March and November in common years, and August in leap years. Events in March American Red Cross Month Fire Prevention month ( The Philippines) Women's History Month ( United Events in November All Saints' Day (formerly All Hallows Day a Christian holy day is celebrated on November 1, the day after Halloween Other names In Arabic, the month is called أغسطسص ʾUġusṭuṣ or آب ʾĀb; usage varies from place to place and

Having only 28 days in common years, it is the only month of the calendar that once every six years and twice every 11 years, will have only four full 7-day weeks where the first day of the month starts on a Sunday and the last day ends on a Saturday. A week (also called sennight or sevennight) is a unit of Time longer than a Day and shorter than a Month. Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In the Jewish law it is the first day of the Hebrew calendar week Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. It is either the sixth or seventh Day of the week as discussed below. This pattern can be observed in 2009 and can be traced back 11 years to 1998, another 11 years back to 1987, and 6 years back to 1981; and so on twice 11 years consecutively and once six years either forward into the future or back into the past, 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. This article is about the year For the film see 2009 Lost Memories. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The future is commonly understood to contain all events that have yet to occur PAST (short for Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telefoniczna, Polish Telephone Joint-stock Company) was a Polish telephone operator in the period between World War I A year of this kind would be a common year starting on Thursday. This is the Calendar for any Common year starting on Thursday ( Dominical letter D)

Overview

February, from the Très riches heures du Duc de Berry

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. The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry or simply the Très Riches Heures ( The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry) is a very richly decorated The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the foundation of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. Events in January Holidays New Year's Day - January 1 Coptic Christmas - January 7 Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox They were added by Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. Numa Pompilius, according to Legend, was the second King of Rome, succeeding Romulus. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. Decemviri (singular decemvir) is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic (cf 450 BC), 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. Mercedonius, also known as Intercalaris, was the Intercalary month added in Leap years of the Roman calendar. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. See from Roman to Julian. The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita 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. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian

February begins, astronomically speaking, with the sun in the constellation of Capricornus and ends with the sun in the constellation of Aquarius. Capricornus ( Latin for "horned (male Goat " or "goat horn " is one of the Constellations of the Zodiac. Aquarius ( Water -bearer or cup-bearer is the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, situated between Capricornus and Pisces. Astrologically speaking, February begins with the sun in the sign of Aquarius and ends in the sign of Pisces. Aquarius is the eleventh Astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation Aquarius. Pisces is the twelfth Astrological sign in the Zodiac, which originates from the Pisces constellation.

The birthstone is the amethyst, and the birth flower is the Violet. Early civilizations such as India and Babylon have attributed gemstones with magical properties Amethyst is a violet variety of Quartz often used as an Ornamental stone in Jewelry. Birthday is the name given to the date of the anniversary of a person's birth Viola, commonly called Violets, is a Genus of Flowering plants in the family Violaceae, with around 400-500 species distributed

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. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his 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. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside

Many people pronounce the 'u' of "February" as IPA: /juː/ you rather than /uː/ oo, by analogy with "January", which forces the first 'r' to be eclipsed, viz. /ˈfɛbjuːɛri/ FEB-yoo-air-ee rather than /ˈfɛbruːəri/ FEB-roo-uh-ree. 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. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern The Scots language names for the month are Feberwary and Februar, the latter usually pronounced with a long "ay" vowel in the first syllable. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern

Events in February

• Valentine's Day: February 14
• Black History Month (United States)
• Presidents Day (United States, third Monday)
• Dominican Republic Independence: February 27

Further reading

• Anthony Aveni, "February's Holidays: Prediction, Purification, and Passionate Pursuit," The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 29-46. Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a Holiday celebrated on February 14 Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. Washington's Birthday is a United States Federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation

See also

• February 29
• Historical anniversaries

External links

• The Straight Dope: How come February has only 28 days?