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February
History
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February named for the feast of purification. Around 713
BC, the period between the 10th month (December) and the
first month (March) became Ianuarius and Februarius. In
45 BC, Julius Caesar invented the Julian Calendar, switching
some months around and basing it on a 365 day year, with
a leap day every four years.
It was a fairly good system, only off by 11 minutes a
year. Of course, that can really add up after a few centuries,
so, in 1582, Pope Gegory XIII created the Gregorian Calendar,
which is the calendar the western world uses today.
Both the Julian and Gregorian calendars used AD (Anno Domini,
Latin for 'year of our Lord') and BC (Latin - ante Christum
for 'Before Christ') to designate time before (BC) and after
the Lord's birth. The use of AD began in 731, and BC was
first used in the late 1400s. Technically, there was no
'Year Zero' between the BC and AD, it just went from 1 BC
to 1 AD on that date Jesus was believed to have been born.
We say 'believed' because He was probably born a few years
earlier, in 4 BC.
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February
Trivia
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Birthstone:
amethyst
Flower:
Primrose
Astrological Signs:
Aquarius: January 20 - February 18
Pisces: February 19 - March 20 |
Spanish: En febrero
Italian: Febbraio
French: Février
German: Februar
Polish: Lutego
Latin: Februarius |
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Awards
Trivia
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► The Academy Awards show is usually held at the
end of the month, six months after the nominees are announced.
► The Academy Awards is the oldest ceremony of all
award shows in the media.
► The Oscar statuette weighs 8.5 pounds and stands
13.5 inches high.
► The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May
16, 1929, and the first televised show was the 25th annual,
held on March 19, 1953.
► The two most-nominated films in Oscar history were
"All about Eve" (1950) and "Titanic"
(1997), with 14 nominations each!
► Jack Nicholson holds the record for the most Academy
Award nominations, with 12 nominations.
"Can you believe how many award shows they have now? They
have awards for commercials. The Cleo Awards, a whole show
full of commercials. I taped it and then I fast-forwarded
through the whole thing."
- Andy Rooney |
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Other
Things To Know About February
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► February is Black History Month and Parent leadership
Month.
► The first Friday in February is 'Go Red For Women'
day - wearing red shows support for fighting woman's cancer.
► There were orginially two presidential holidays,
but they merged George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's
birthdays together for one holiday.
. February is also Black History Month, often used to celebrate
the accomplishments of George Washington Carver and Martin
Luther King, Jr.
► February 1865 is the only month in recorded history
not to have a full moon.
► The two zodiac signs for the month of February
are Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18) and Pisces (Feb 19-March 20)
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