February Holidays, Traditions and More

Ali Canary, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 2, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

The shortest month of the year certainly isn't short on stuff to celebrate. Groundhog Day (Feb 2) evokes the promise of spring, but lingering cold weather makes a perfect excuse to cuddle on Valentine's Day (Feb 14). Add to this the crazy fun of Carnivale and Mardi Gras, the reverence of Ash Wednesday and the killer sales of President's Day, and you have a pretty cool month. But wait; there's more!

Monthly Observances

February is widely known for being National Black History Month, but it is also the National Month for bird feeding, caring about your indoor air, cherry pie, condoms, children's dental health (a natural consequence of Cherry Pie Month), laugh-friendliness, mending a broken heart, parent leadership (lead your kids to the dentist!), pet dental health (you really shouldn't have let your pet in on the cherry pie thing), senior independence, time management, and weddings (a natural consequence of ignoring Condom Month). It's the International Month for boosting self-esteem, so make sure everyone compliments your cherry pies enormously.

In addition, February is also American Heart Month, as well as the month for adopting a rescued rabbit, AMD / low vision awareness, baking for family fun, festival of camellias, from Africa to Virginia, library lovers, Marfan Syndrome awareness, marijuana awareness, planting the seeds of greatness (could this be related to marijuana awareness? No, that'd be planting the seeds of underachievement), relationship wellness, returning shopping carts to the supermarket (I don't make this stuff up; I just report it), sweet potatoes, wise health care consumers, worldwide renaissance of the heart, youth leadership (perhaps a bit at odds with parent leadership?), and spunky old broads, so watch some Golden Girls reruns, then take your bad self roller skating!

Weirdest Holiday: Inconvenience Yourself Day, the 25^th. We need a freakin' holiday for this? Honorable Mention for Bad Timing: Dump Your Significant Jerk Day, on the 7^th, is not likely to get too many adherents, placed as it is one week before Valentine's Day. At least see what the jerk got you, first! :)

February Traditions

Flower: violet - fidelity, humility

Birthstone: amethyst - humility, sincerity Aquarius's gem: sapphire - chastity, hope

Zodiac sign: Aquarius (1-18) and Pisces (19-29; see March for details). Despite being represented as the Water Bearer, Aquarius is actually an air sign, indicating spontaneity and changeability. Aquarians are known geniuses and almost pathologically honest, but they sure can be weird about stuff, like relationships. Try to be less cerebral and more trusting, Water Bearers! Best friends: Libra and Gemini. Best love matches: Sagittarius, Leo and Aries.

Famous Birthdays: Clark Gable (1^st), Ayn Rand (2^nd), Betty Friedan (4^th), Babe Ruth (6^th), Charles Dickens (7^th), Burt Reynolds (11^th), Abraham Lincoln (12^th), Galileo (15^th), John Travolta (18^th), Sydney Poitier (20^th), Erma Bombeck (21^st), George Washington (22^nd), Winslow Homer (24^th), George Harrison (25^th), Ralph Nader (27^th).