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FEBRUARY

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 231 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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FEBRUARY , the second See also:

MONTH
MONTH (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Mond, Du. maand, Dan. maaned, &c., and cognate with Lat. mensis, Gr. µi7v, &c., in other branches of the Indo-Germanic family; all ultimately from the root seen in the word for the moon in nearly all those languages

month of the See also:

MODERN

modern See also:

CALENDAR

calendar. In See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary years it contains 28 days; but in bissextile or leap See also:

YEAR

year, by the addition of the See also:

INTERCALARY (from Lat. intercalare, to proclaim, calare, the insertion of a day in the calendar)

intercalary See also:

day, it consists of 29 days. This month was not in the Romulian calendar. In the reign of Numa two months were added to the year, namely, See also:

JANUARY

January at the beginning, and February at the end; and this arrangement was continued until 452 B.C., when the decemvirs placed February after January. The See also:

ancient name of Februarius was derived from februare, to purify, or from Februa, the See also:

ROMAN

Roman festival of See also:

general expiation and See also:

LUSTRATION

lustration, which was celebrated during the latter See also:

PART

part of this month. In February also the See also:

LUPERCALIA

Lupercalia were held, and See also:

WOMEN

women were purified by the priests of See also:

Pan Lyceus at that festival. The Anglo-See also:

SAXONS

Saxons called this month Sprout-Kale from the sprouting of the See also:

CABBAGE

cabbage at this See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season. Later it was known as Solmonath, because of the return of the See also:

sun from the See also:

low latitudes. The most generally noted days of February are the following:—the 2nd, See also:

CANDLEMAS (Lat. festum candelarum live luminum)

Candlemas day, one of the fixed See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter days used in See also:

Scotland; the 14th, St See also:

VALENTINE, or VALENTINUS

Valentine's day; and the 24th, St See also:

Matthias. The See also:

church festival of St Matthias was formerly observed on the 25th of February in bissextile years, but it is now invariably celebrated on the 24th.

End of Article: FEBRUARY

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