So February’s a funny little month. The other eleven have either 30 days or 31, but February has 28, except when it has 29, which it does every year divisible by four, except when it doesn’t.
February’s also a crazy mixed-up kid in other ways, uncertain whether it’s the depths of winter, or the first breath of spring. This year most of the nation was clobbered by a gigantic winter storm in the first week of the month. There have also been notable February blizzards in 2013, 2007 (almost 40 dead), and 1978. After the powerful ’13 storm traversed the continent it even crossed the ocean, dumping six inches on England.
Yet one February in the 1980s, the temperature went up to 70 on the first weekend, bringing the trees into bud and killing the whole maple season. Maple sap is normally a February specialty, running best when the nights are below freezing, and the days are above.
America honors George Washington (and much of the world joins us) on his February 22 birthday, though it was actually the 11th until a calendar change when he was just reaching adulthood. Curiously two of the 19th century’s most influential men – Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln – were both born on February 12, 1809, though separated by 4000 miles, and an even bigger gap in social standing.
Groundhog Day comes on February 2, when it provides a few minutes of amusement before dropping into oblivion for the next 364 days. Valentine’s Day on the 14th is a bigger deal, with cards and candy and decorations, and tiers of participation rising from little kids to passionate lovers, who manage just fine without a special day anyhow. (Valentine, by the way, is the patron saint of Hallmark – ho ho.)
The BIGGEST event in February is that new secular holiday, Super Sunday (or Super BOWL Sunday). I have no particular interest in the NFL, but I enjoy the day. We really needed something big between New Years Eve and Easter. Groundhogs, Cupids, and Darwin didn’t cut it, and Washington doesn’t lend himself to frivolity, but Super Sunday fills the void.
Heavier-than-air aviation came to the Finger Lakes in February of 1908, when Glenn Curtiss and his friends experimented with hang gliders on Mount Washington’s snowy slopes.
For those denominations that observe it, Lent usually begins during February, though it can begin as late as March 10. Some churches also observe Candlemas Day, which is on or near February 2. The old rhyme “Candlemas Day, Candlemas Day, half your wood and half your hay,” reminded farmers that if they had used MORE than half of their stores by that date, they were likely to be in deep trouble before winter ended.
February was named for an ancient Roman purification ritual. Since there are almost 30 days between full moons, every month has one, and sometimes two. Except curious February, which occasionally misses it altogether, even in Leap Years.
In normal years in our parts, February is maple sugar season, tapping the sap from any of five commercially-viable species. It’s still big in Allegany and southwestern Steuben Counties, and in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier, with some producers selling sap directly. Others boil it down to syrup or sugar and sell to wholesalers, while some do their own processing and sell it at retail. We used to do it as a hobby activity. You should get some! And enjoy your February.