February is the dwarf of the calendar months. Having 28 days (29 during a leap year), February has the least days of the 12 months. In the ancient past, the month has had as few as 23 days.
I imagine February doesn’t mind being called Shorty. Great things happen in a short time.
There are two distinguishing things about the great month of February. February packs a punch as the coldest month of the winter period and year. On February 2, even the groundhog notes the days of winter.
“Brrrrr!”
For those who love cold weather, you can have it! I prefer to hibernate during this time.
February originates from the Latin words’ February menses” which means ‘month of purification.’
During Roman times, February was the last calendar month and had ties to the Roman feast of purification. The feast or festival occurred in the ides or middle of the month.
Isn’t staying indoors a type of purification?
Mom used to say the cold weather eliminates many pesty insects, rodents, and other animals.
Another great thing about February is it is Black History Month!
The story, study, and celebration of Black History began with the organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), formed in 1915. As the emphasis on the contributions progressed, Black History Week was established in 1926, which was observed in February.
Personally, I can do a lot in a week, but how can anyone cram the significance of black culture, struggles, and achievements in one week?
In 1976, the ASNLH expanded from Black History Week to Black History Month.
Why is Black History Month observed in February, the coldest and shortest month of the year? Why not spotlight African American achievements in September, which has 30 days? Why not October, which has 31 days?
Dr. Carter G. Woodson was the father and founder of the study of Black History. He spent a lifetime teaching, promoting, encouraging, and highlighting the contributions, blood, sweat, and tears of blacks who helped make a nation called the United States of America.
Dr. Woodson chose February because Abraham Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglas’s birthdays are February 12 and 14, respectively. Not knowing his actual birthday, Douglas chose February 14 to mark his birth.
Black History is American History and should be studied during the year as such. But for now, there is Black History Month.
Thank God for that!
Thank you, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a son of former slaves who studied, worked, and became dean of the Harvard College of Arts and Sciences. Thank you for spotlighting African American History, the history of black Americans that was overlooked and deemed insignificant in America.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson said, “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”
Dr. Woodson helped create the ASNLH and other venues to showcase black achievements. He founded the Journal of Nego History. He also authored 20 or more books.
Happy Black History Month, February 2024, a leap year!
A history that is not taught, remembered, or deemed vital to its own people is lost.
Black History is a study for our nation!
Be well.