February….the shortest month of the year…even with an extra day as well as the month for lovers with Valentine’s Day…but did you also know these tidbits about February?
February is named after the purification ritual Februa, which was a sort of early Roman spring cleaning festival. In Old English, February was called Solmonath (Mud month) or Kale-monath (Kale or cabbage month).
February frequently occurs in lists of the most commonly misspelt words in the English language. The Americans have trouble with the word February too – last year, a press release from the White House consistently spelt it as Feburary.
Much Ado About Nothing is the only Shakespeare play that mentions February.
Before Julius Caesar’s calendar reform of 45BC, February was the only month with an even number of days. All the rest had 29 or 31.
Did you know…February is the only month that can pass with no full moon. This will next occur in 2018.
The birthstone for February is amethyst. The birth flower is the violet or iris. The ancient Greeks believed that amethyst protected the wearer from drunkenness.
