10 facts about February

Every day marks a new beginning and every beginning of every month declares a bag full of new beginnings. When the very long January comes to an end, February comes into play, how much do you know about ‘February’? When I found these out I said to myself, so February has a personality! I have always subconsciously associated it with Valentine, love…,well that’s a cup for another tea session!

Here are the 10 facts you possibly did not know about February.

• February is the second month of the year in our modern day Gregorian calendar.
• It is the year’s shortest month with only 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years
• It was named after the Latin word ‘februum’, which means purification because the month was a time for purification.
• February became the second month of the year around 450 BCE
• February starts on the same day of the week as March and November in common years
• Once every six years and twice every 11 years, the month of February will have only four full seven-day weeks, where the first day of the month starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday.
• During leap years, February starts on the same day of the week as August.
• February’s birth flower is the violet and the common primrose.
• The birthstone for February is the amethyst which symbolizes piety, humility, spiritual wisdom and sincerity.
• Many people pronounce the ‘ru’ of “February” ew rather than /ruː/ roo, as if it were spelled “Feb-u-ary”