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The month of February presented a problem for me, I had to decide whether I wanted Mary Alice to make donuts for Fasnacht Day or a cherry pie for Valentine's Day. I went with the donuts. It's hard to believe that the month of February is nearing the end, even with an extra day for Leap Year.
The name February comes from the Latin word februarius, meaning purification. In the early days, the Romans held Festivals of Purification during the month of February.
February has many other notable days. The second of February was Candlemas Day, which is the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Candlemas Day is held on the 40th day after Christmas. According to weather lore, a sunny Candlemas Day will be followed by cold weather.
A Scottish lore goes like this, "If Candlemas Day is fair and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." This can be compared to our groundhog prediction, which is held on Feb. 2, when it is believed that the groundhog comes out of its burrow to check on the day's weather. If the day is sunny, the groundhog will see his shadow and return to its, and we will have six more weeks of winter.
Other notable days are Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day), Fat Tuesday, and in Pennsylvania Dutch tradition it is known as Fasnacht Day. In many German communities, church kitchens are turned into bakeries, where these Fasnachts (donuts) are made to be sold on Shrove Tuesday.
The earliest date for Shrove Tuesday is Feb. 3 and the latest is March 9. Shrove Tuesday occurred this year on the Feb. 13, while Ash Wednesday -- which is the first day of lent -- a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter, occurred on Feb. 14. On the Feb. 19, we celebrate All Presidents Day, which was originally for the birthdays of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Of course on Feb. 14 we had Valentine's Day, a time when we express our love to family and friends.
Every four years a leap year occurs and 2024 is a leap year. In this month of February, we will have 29 days instead of the usual 28. This extra day is to get the calendar in step with nature and her seasons. In a one-year period, there are 365 days plus five hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, which equal approximately one quarter of a day. For three years, we ignored the extra hours, minutes and seconds and then needed to catch up by adding a full day every fourth year.
However, this extra day adds 44 minutes and 15 seconds over what is needed, becoming l8 hours and 43 minutes in l00 years. Therefore, every 100 years, we have no leap year. There are exceptions to this rule that extend far into the future to get us in step with Mother Nature and her seasons.
With the Reformation of the Julian Calendar and the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, an extra day was added to each fourth year. Pope Gregory also canceled ten days to bring the calendar in step with nature, with the result that people went to bed on Thursday, Oct. 4, 1582 and awakened the next morning on Friday, Oct. 15.
In folk lore, a leap year gives a young lady the right to ask a young man to marry her. Some say this legend is about Saint Patrick and Saint Bridget during a time in Ireland, when it was not necessary for priests and nuns to remain unmarried. One day a tearful Bridget went to see Saint Patrick to tell of the unrest among her group of nuns, declaring their unhappiness because of the belief that only men could take the initiative in matrimony.
Being sympathetic, Saint Patrick said that he would allow the women to propose marriage during a period every seven years. Now, Bridget was still not satisfied and proceeded to drive a better bargain, obtaining the right to propose every four years. She then asked Saint Patrick if he would marry her, however he refused, saying that he had taken a vow of celibacy. To make the refusal easier for Bridget, Saint Patrick gave her a kiss and a silken gown. For years, it was an unwritten law in Britain that if a man refused to accept a woman's proposal during a leap year, he had to pay her a penalty of a silk dress.
Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.