Short on Days
But loooong on celebrations
By Deborah Salomon
February is laden with holidays — maybe more than any other month, beginning with Chinese New Year on Feb. 1, followed by Groundhog Day on Feb. 2. Then, Valentine’s Day on the 14th, with Presidents Day on the 21st. The entire month has been designated American Heart Month and Black History Month.
Every month has its sillies with February no exception: National Toothache Day, Crab-stuffed Flounder Day, Public Sleeping Day. Notable birthdays, too: George Harrison and James Dean were born in February, but so was Hitler.
Besides being the most mispronounced month, February is also the shortest. Somehow, this evens things out cosmically while messing up the birthdays of those “leaplings” born on the 29th.
Most Western nations live by the Gregorian (solar) calendar with 365.2425 days, as opposed to the Julian calendar of 365.25, which faded from fashion in 1582. Moveable religious feasts like Easter and Passover are determined by . . . well, it’s complicated.
Obviously, Gregory and Julius didn’t have to deal with National Dog Biscuit Day, which falls on Feb. 23.
Hmmm. I’m enjoying the extrapolation, starting with the Chinese Year of the Tiger on the 1st. No matter how you feel about President Xi Jinping, the food is sensational, especially holiday specialties which include a whole fish for luck, long noodles for long life and the yummiest dumplings. For background music, cue up Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” from Rocky III.
Lincoln set forth the Emancipation Proclamation in September; it took effect in January. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in January; MLK Day is celebrated in January but Black History Month (love the soul food banquets) is observed in February. Why? Though it took decades to arrive at the month-long celebration, the seed was planted in February because of the proximity of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12 and Frederick Douglass’ on Feb. 14.
Lincoln’s birthday used to be a separate holiday, followed by George Washington’s birthday (cherry pie) on Feb. 22. Then the ski resorts figured out that by combining the two and adding all the other presidents — noteworthy or not — they could institute a midwinter ski jaunt, fueled by French onion soup topped with melted Gruyère. The government then instituted the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, designating the third Monday in February (glorious skiing, not too cold) as Presidents Day.
On Presidents Day, I imagine John Adams commiserating with George H.W. Bush about stuff their sons messed up while in office. Or hear JFK and WJC blog about White House hanky-panky. American voters should know that LBJ was hooked on Fresca and that James Polk, the single-term president born in Pineville, North Carolina, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and invented the mullet, with photos to prove it.
As for Heart Month playing off the Valentine symbol, I’ve yet to see a romantic menu lacking fat, cholesterol and lots of sugar.
Speaking of St. Valentine, how sad that the patron saint of lovers came to such a gruesome end. Seems emperor Claudius had him beaten to death, then decapitated for defiance on Feb. 14. Legend adds that Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s daughter, smuggling her a card bearing his name before his execution. Lordy, don’t tell Hallmark. Or Godiva, Russell Stover and Hershey.
Groundhog Day sports a complicated history, from the ancient Celts’ pagan observance midway between the winter and summer solstices, to Candlemas, marking the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. Germans added the groundhog (originally badger) element when they settled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania — as unspellable as Coach Krzyzewski, who was born Feb. 13.
This year we are spared, barely, Mardi Gras, which happens March 1.
I just couldn’t stomach gumbo after dumplings, chocolate, cherry pie and chitlins. PS
Deborah Salomon is a writer for PineStraw and The Pilot. She may be reached at debsalomon@nc.rr.com.
