Tuesday, February 01, 2005

February

I realize that more than a few people seem to have a deep dislike for this month of the year. But I love it.

A little borrowing from Wikipedia:

February is named for the Roman god Februus, the god of purification. January and February were the last two months to be added to the calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. This change was made by Numa Pompilius about 700 BCE in order to bring the calendar in line with a standard lunar year. Numa's Februarius contained 29 days (30 in a leap year). Augustus is alledged to have removed one day from February and added it to August, (renamed from Sextilis to honor himself), so that Julius Caesar's July would not contain more days. However there is little historical evidence to support this claim.
February was nominally the last month of the Roman calendar, as the year originally began in
March. At certain intervals Roman priests inserted an intercalary month, Mercedonius, after February to realign the year with the seasons.
Historical names for February include the
Anglo-Saxon terms Solmoneth (sun month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne's designation Hornung.

Go ahead. Call it the cabbage month, if you dare. I prefer the purification designation. And Augustus. What an egoist!

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