For a short month, February sure packs a big punch! This year we have an added bonus of an additional day due to Leap Year. Those of you that might have or know someone that has a birthday of Feb 29, this is that magical time that comes around every 4yrs that allows you to actually celebrate their birthday on their Birthday! I have included a link that explains why and how Leap year happens; it is to synchronize the Gregorian calendar with the solar year. And how cool it is that Feb 29th falls on a Saturday, so you can actually celebrate the day on a weekend without regrets! Happy Birthday to all the Leap Year Babies! I hope you take advantage of this extra day to have some fun in February.
February starts out being famous for Ground Hog’s Day! It just would not be the same without Punxsutawny Phil or Staten Island Chuck! I heard many prognosticators grumble about these rodents and their accuracy- hmm, I wonder who gets the weather right most often, the weather men or the Ground Hog? No surprise this year it was predicted that we would have an early Spring. And it is all fun and games until the ground hog bites! Lol! Just so that they are not outdone by Bill Murray, the Ground Hogs never disappoint. Do you remember when Staten Island Chuck bit Bloomberg? or when DiBlasio dropped him/her! The best is when Jimmy the Ground Hog from Michigan tried to pull a Mike Tyson on the Mayor there! Some great February hijinks if you follow the above link. Enjoy!
February also is host to one or two holidays- Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, and Washington’s Birthday on February 22, but most people celebrate both dates as President’s Day on the third Monday of the month after Congress synchronized holidays on Mondays to create three day weekends, Yeah! However, technically, the date should still be called Washington’s Birthday and not President’s Day- that term was coined by retail after their sales! This year it falls on February 17. Actually, Washington’s real birthday is February 11 according to the Julian calendar. I recommend you follow the above link to the Farmer’s Almanac as the history around Washington’s Birthday is trivia worthy! “When Washington was born in 1731 we were using the Julian calendar, but at some point during his lifetime, Great Britain and America switched to the Gregorian calendar…As a result of this calendar reform, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates. Those born between January 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar…Washington’s birthday changed from February 11, 1731 (Old Style Julian calendar) to February 22, 1732 (New Style Gregorian calendar).”(Farmer’s Almanac) For a short month, February is also famous for school vacations. It can be costly and crowded to travel during February break or President’s Week as it is often called, but oh so nice to get away!
February is also Black History Month and there are many cultural celebrations, arts and humanities festivals to “commemorate the achievements and contributions of African American Men and women.” Truly the month is too short to honor them all.
Rounding out the Calendar influences for February is the fact that Ash Wednesday falls in February this year- the last week of the month, Feb 26. The timing of Easter and Passover is also regulated by old traditional calendars. You can read up on it from a previous newsletter here.
But for many of us, the date that is synonymous with February is February 14, Valentine’s Day. Retail has been reminding us of it since after Christmas sales. For some it brings angst or anxiety; for me, as I have a heart centered business, I take the time to reflect on love, life and relationships. Over the past year or so, I could not help but notice that Kathy Lee Gifford has reinvented herself, and as a curious admirer, I found myself reading an article from April/May 2019 about this current phase of her life and I have held onto it until now to share with you. I think it is best to excerpt it for you and let it speak to you in her voice, “Am I open to new love?...Yes of course. There’s a line in a song I did with Brett (James) called “Once Again” that goes, “You don’t find love, love finds you, in the midst of a moment, right out of the blue. It sneaks up on your heart, hardly making a sound, till all of a sudden, you find you’ve been found.” Kathy Lee Gifford. The words are soft but deeply profound.
My February wish for you is that you take the time this month, allow moments in your life to find joy, and that when you least expect it, Love will find you, too. Events by Marylee can provide for you that time you might need to spend with family and friends rather than cooking or serving yourself. Give us a call and let us shine some love on your life.