February: Difference between revisions

'''February''' is the second month of the year in the [[Julian calendar|Julian]] and [[Gregorian calendar]]s. The month has 28 days in [[common year]]s and 29 in [[leap year]]s, with the [[February 29|29th day]] being called the ''leap day''.  

February is the third and last month of [[meteorological winter]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]. In the [[Southern Hemisphere]], February is the third and last month of [[meteorological summer]], being the seasonal equivalent of [[August]] in the Northern Hemisphere.

"February" can be pronounced in several different ways. The beginning of the word is commonly pronounced either as {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-February.ogg|ˈ|f|ɛ|b|j|u|-}} {{respell|FEB|yoo|-}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɛ|b|r|u|-}} {{respell|FEB|roo|-}}; many people drop the first "r", replacing it with {{IPAc-en|j}}, as if it were spelled "Febuary". This comes about by analogy with "January" ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-January.ogg|ˈ|dʒ|æ|n|.|j|u|-}}), as well as by a [[dissimilation]] effect whereby having two "r"s close to each other causes one to change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/february |title=February &#124; Definition of February by Merriam-Webster |website=Merriam-webster.com |access-date=2016-09-17 |archive-date=2016-09-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918005620/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/February |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref> The ending of the word is pronounced {{IPAc-en|-|ɛr|i}} {{respell|-|err|ee}} in the US and {{IPAc-en|-|ər|i}} {{respell|-|ər|ee}} in the UK.

The Roman month {{lang|la|[[Februarius]]}} was named after the Latin term {{lang|la|februum}}, which means "purification", via the purification ritual {{lang|la|[[Februa]]}} held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar [[Roman calendar]]. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period of the year. They were added by [[Numa Pompilius]] about 713&nbsp;BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the [[decemvirs]] ({{circa|450&nbsp;BC}}), when it became the second month. At certain times February was truncated to 23 or 24 days, and a 27-day intercalary month, [[Mercedonius|Intercalaris]], was occasionally inserted immediately after February to realign the year with the [[season]]s.

February observances in [[Ancient Rome]] included [[Amburbium]] (precise date unknown), [[Sementivae]] (February 2), [[Februa]] (February 13–15), [[Lupercalia]] (February 13–15), [[Parentalia]] (February 13–22), [[Quirinus|Quirinalia]] (February 17), [[Feralia]] (February 21), [[Caristia]] (February 22), [[Terminalia (festival)|Terminalia]] (February 23), [[Regifugium]] (February 24), and [[Agonalia#Agonium Martiale|Agonium Martiale]] (February 27). These days do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.

February [[meteor showers]] include the [[Alpha Centaurids]] (appearing in early February), the [[Virginids#March Virginids|March Virginids]] (lasting from February 14 to April 25, peaking around March 20), the [[Delta Cancrids]] (appearing December 14 to February 14, peaking on January 17), the [[Omicron Centaurids]] (late January through February, peaking in mid-February), [[Theta Centaurids]] (January 23 – March 12, only visible in the southern hemisphere), [[Virginids#Eta Virginids|Eta Virginids]] (February 24 and March 27, peaking around March 18), and [[Virginids#Pi Virginid|Pi Virginids]] (February 13 and April 8, peaking between March 3 and March 9).