FEBRUARY: A TIME FOR LOVE AND WINTRY WEATHER
February may be the year’s shortest month, but Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day guarantee that it isn’t overlooked on the way to spring. The word February is thought to come from the Latin name Februalia for the ancient Roman Festival of Purification. The root “februo” means “I purify by sacrifice.” Considering the challenging weather that occurs in many areas during February, it’s easy to see the month as a time of purification when frigid temperatures and dark skies test people’s spirit and determination. The Snow Moon is the name for the Full Moon in February, relating to the month’s often snowy weather. Some Native American tribes named it the Hunger Moon due to the scarce food sources available during the month, while another name is Storm Moon due to February’s blustery weather. Among the ancient Anglo-Saxons of Britain, February was known as “Sprout-kale” as it was the time of year when kale and cabbage first sprouted from the ground and became edible.
Below is a group of quotations related to February that reflect a wide range of feelings and views on the month that many people associate with love and romance and others with frigid weather and dark skies. Hopefully, you’ll find some pearls of wisdom and sources of inspiration among these quotes along with touches of humor that you can post on your whiteboard coated wall to inspire you in the work-from-home office, give you a laugh, or encourage your children in their homeschool assignments. According to psychologist and motivation expert Dr. Jonathan Fader, reading affirmative quotes can have a beneficial effect on people who are open to upbeat messages that include strong images and appeal to their hopeful nature. So, to help you uplift your thinking and examine aspects of your life that you’d like to change, you can use your Whiteboard Wall as a posting area. Try regularly writing down three to seven of the quotes that best resonate with your work-from-home or homeschool goals. With any luck, you’ll get some food for thought, humor, and personal encouragement in the process.
VIEWS ON FEBRUARY
“Though February is short, it is filled with lots of love and sweet surprises” ― Charmaine J. Forde (US author)
“February — the month of love? No wonder it’s the shortest one in the calendar.” ― Dinesh Kumar Biran (magazine publisher and author)
“There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming summer.” — Gertrude Jekyll (British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer, and artist)
“Freezing
cold winds,
biting chills, and
white snow-fluffed hills
Valentine’s Day, oh, how gay!
Presidents’ Day is coming our way. -=
February, sweet and small, greatest month of all.” — Eric Lies (US author and cleric), 28-Word Poem for February
“Why does February feel like one big Tuesday?” ― Todd Stocker (US author)
“The February born will find
Sincerity and peace of mind;
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they the Pearl (or green Amethyst) will wear.” — Anonymous
“The most serious charge which can be brought against New England is not Puritanism but February.” — Joseph Wood Krutch (US writer, critic, and naturalist)
“Even though February was the shortest month of the year, sometimes it seemed like the longest.” ― J. D. Robb (US author of romance novels)
“February is the uncertain month, neither black nor white but all shades between by turns. Nothing is sure.” — Gladys Hasty Carroll (US novelist)
“In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other.” — Linda Ellerbee (US journalist)
“February is for curmudgeons, whingebags, and misanthropes . . . it’s so short. There is nothing good about it, which is why it’s so great.” ―Lionel Shriver (US author and journalist)
“If you meet 29th February, think of something unique, for it is the only day that defines a year as a leap year. It is the only day that makes February truly unique.” — Ernest Agyemang Yeboah (Ghanian writer and teacher)
FEBRUARY WEATHER
“Late February, and the air’s so balmy snowdrops and crocuses might be fooled into early blooming. Then, the inevitable blizzard will come, blighting our harbingers of spring, and the numbed yards will go back undercover. In Florida, it’s strawberry season — shortcake, waffles, berries, and cream will be penciled on the coffee shop menus.” — Gail Mazur (US poet), The Idea of Florida during a Winter Thaw
“Why, what’s the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?” — William Shakespeare (world-renowned English playwright and poet), Much Ado About Nothing
“The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within.”
— William C. Bryant (US romantic poet, journalist, and editor)
“Late February days; and now, at last,
Might you have thought that
Winter’s woe was past;
So fair the sky was and so soft the air.”
– William Morris (British textile designer, poet, and novelist)
THOUGHTS ON VALENTINE’S DAY
Valentine’s Day is thought to have evolved from the spring holiday Lupercalia, which the ancient Romans celebrated on February 15. The feast honored the god Lupercus, who was thought to protect people and their herds from wolves. On this day, dances were held for young single men and women. The men drew the women’s names from pieces of papyrus placed in a bowl. The men then danced with their partners and were required to protect them throughout the New Year, which started in March. In many cases, the partners became sweethearts and soon got married. When the custom of February dances was restored in medieval times, men would wear their sweethearts’ names on their sleeves. Even now, we refer to people who easily express their feelings as ‘wearing their hearts on their sleeves.'” Below are some thoughts on this ancient holiday.
“Without Valentine’s Day, February would be … well, January.” – Jim Gaffigan (US comedian)
“This February 14th, take a moment to laugh thoroughly at your singlehood; everybody else does!” – Anonymous
“I had every intention of celebrating Valentine’s Day, but when Cupid got around to me, it seems he had run out of arrows.” – Anonymous
“Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate the joy of being in love. Unless you’re single and lonely, then it’s called Laundry Day.” – Dane Cook (US comedian and film actor)
“Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day this year, I’m celebrating Discount Chocolate Tuesday.” – Anonymous
“In the best of all possible worlds, February 14 is a pleasant and sentimental opportunity to lavish your partner with attention or move your relationship to the next level.” ― Pepper Schwartz (US sociologist and sexologist)
“Don’t be sad if you are single on Valentine’s Day. Work hard, achieve something and see, one day, the right person will cross your path.” – Harshal “Harry” Bhatt (US singer, instrumentalist, engineer, and poet)
“If lovers get half price off on Valentine’s Day, then singles should just get everything for free!” – Anonymous
“Today is Valentine’s Day. Or, as men like to call it, Extortion day.” – Jay Leno (US comedian and talk show host)
“If acquiring a boyfriend was as easy as becoming fat, I certainly would have had one to share my Valentine’s Day with.” – Anonymous
“This year’s Valentine’s Day, I will enjoy long, romantic walks to the fridge.” – Anonymous
“Valentine’s Day: the holiday that reminds you that if you don’t have a special someone, you’re alone.” – Lewis Black (US comedian, author, playwright, social critic, and actor)
“The only bubble in the flat champagne of February is Valentine’s Day. It was no accident that our ancestors pinned Valentine’s Day on February’s shirt: he or she lucky enough to have a lover in frigid, antsy February has cause for celebration, indeed.” — Tom Robbins (US novelist)