"February" can be pronounced in several different ways. The beginning of the word is commonly pronounced either as/ˈfɛbju-/ⓘFEB-yoo- or/ˈfɛbru-/ⓘFEB-roo-; many people drop the first "r", replacing it with/j/, as if it were spelled "Febuary". This comes about by analogy with "January" (/ˈdʒæn.ju-/ⓘ), as well as by adissimilation effect whereby having two "r"s close to each other causes one to change.[1][2] The ending of the word is pronounced/-ɛri/-err-ee in the US and/-əri/-ər-ee in the UK.
February, from theTrès riches heures du Duc de BerryFebruary,Leandro BassanoIn recent decades, the number of warm temperature records in February has outpaced cold temperature records over a growing portion of Earth's surface.[3]
Under the reforms that instituted theJulian calendar, Intercalaris was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year, and in leap years February gained a 29th day. 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 numberedAnno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. TheGregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years, but also contained a 29-day February.
Historical names for February include theOld English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named forcabbage) as well asCharlemagne's designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is calledhelmikuu, 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. InPolish andUkrainian, respectively, the month is calledluty orлютий (lyutiy), meaning the month of ice or hard frost. InMacedonian the month issečko (сечко), meaning month of cutting (wood). In Czech, it is calledúnor, meaning month of submerging (of river ice).
InSlovene, February is traditionally calledsvečan, related toicicles orCandlemas.[4] This name originates fromsičan,[5] written assvičan in theNew Carniolan Almanac from 1775 and changed to its final form byFranc Metelko in hisNew Almanac from 1824. The name was also spelledsečan, meaning "the month of cutting down of trees".[4] In 1848, a proposal was put forward inKmetijske in rokodelske novice by the Slovene Society ofLjubljana to call this monthtalnik (related to ice melting), but it did not stick. The idea was proposed by a priest, Blaž Potočnik.[6] Another name of February in Slovene wasvesnar, after the mythological characterVesna.[7]
Having only 28 days in common years, February is the only month of the year that can pass without a singlefull moon. UsingCoordinated Universal Time as the basis for determining the date and time of a full moon, this last happened in 2018 and will next happen in 2037.[8][9] The same is true regarding anew moon: again using Coordinated Universal Time as the basis, this last happened in 2014 and will next happen in 2033.[10][11]
February is also the only month of the calendar that, at intervals alternating between one of six years and two of eleven years, has exactly four full 7-dayweeks. In countries that start their week on a Monday, it occurs as part of acommon year starting on Friday, in which February 1st is a Monday and the 28th is a Sunday; the most recent occurrence was2021, and the next one will be2027. In countries that start their week on a Sunday, it occurs in acommon year starting on Thursday; the most recent occurrence was2015 and the next occurrence will be2026. 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.
Februarymeteor showers include theAlpha Centaurids (appearing in early February), theMarch Virginids (lasting from February 14 to April 25, peaking around March 20), theDelta Cancrids (appearing December 14 to February 14, peaking on January 17), theOmicron Centaurids (late January through February, peaking in mid-February),Theta Centaurids (January 23 – March 12, only visible in the southern hemisphere),Eta Virginids (February 24 and March 27, peaking around March 18), andPi Virginids (February 13 and April 8, peaking between March 3 and March 9).
The zodiac signs of February areAquarius (until February 18) andPisces (February 19 onward).[12]
Its birth flowers are the violet (Viola), the common primrose (Primula vulgaris),[13] and theIris.[14] Its birthstone is theamethyst, which symbolizes piety, humility, spiritual wisdom, and sincerity.[15]
(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)
^"Mean Monthly Temperature Records Across the Globe". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Link is an example for one month; for other months, change the "202501" in the preceding URL toyyyymm, whereyyyy is the four-digit year andmm is the two-digit month (01=January through 12=December)
^"Slovenska imena mesecev" [Slovene Names of Months].Kmetijske in Rokodelske Novice.6 (37). 13 September 1848.Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved8 March 2016.
^Bogataj, Janez (2005)."Slovenska mitologija – Vesna" [Slovene Mythology – Vesna].Bilten; poštne znamke [Bulletin: Postage Stamps] (in Slovenian, English, and German) (56).ISSN1318-6280.Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved2016-03-08.
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.
