February: the shortest month, yet it takes forever to end.
It begins the weary waning of winter, alternately teasing fans of fairer weather with invigorating, sunshine-y days and drizzly, overcast and windy weeks.
But a lot is crammed into February’s 28 days, which oh-so-satisfyingly began with Sunday, Feb. 1 and end on Saturday, Feb. 28.
My neatly dated calendar shows our next holiday to look forward to is Valentine’s Day on Saturday. And the spectrum of cynical to sincere approaches to Valentine’s Day is not strictly a Western phenomenon.
Japanese Valentine’s Day customs traditionally begin on Feb. 14 with women presenting gifts (especially chocolates) to the men they like and love, and culminates on March 14, known as White Day.
On White Day, men give gifts back to the women who gave them nice things the month prior — sometimes white chocolate, as the name would imply.
However, just as some people refer to North America’s Valentine’s Day as a Hallmark holiday, Japan’s Valentine’s Day celebrations are a custom of questionable origin: it’s believed the gift exchange was a marketing ploy started by the National Confectionery Industry Association in the 1970s.
Regardless, it’s not typically a bad idea to ply your sweetie with sweets, so I say go ahead and share the candy-coated love.
Next up is the festival of indulgent revelry Mardi Gras, which falls on Feb. 17.
Mardi Gras translates from French literally to “Fat Tuesday” in English, and comes just before Ash Wednesday — the Catholic beginning of Lent, where indulgences are given up for 40 days.
Perhaps most famous in New Orleans, La. for its sleazy bead-trading antics, that city held its first Mardi Gras celebration in 1718, and besides the after-parade crowds on Bourbon Street, actually throws a very family-centred festival.
Celebrations includes street performances, jazz music wafting through the cobbled streets, and dozens of grassroots-formed themed parades, all steeped in colourful Creole Carnival tradition.
Then comes Chinese New Year, which begins on Feb. 19 and marks the beginning of a new lunar year on the Chinese calendar.
The day’s celebrations include a flurry of decorations (often red in colour) and wishes for happiness, wealth, fortune and longevity in the coming year.
Over the next two weeks, revellers give gifts, visit with family and friends, and take some time to relax.
Toward the end of the month, people in the Philippines celebrate People Power Anniversary between Feb. 22 and 25 to mark the end of tyranny and the return of democracy to their archipelago in 1986.
Three days of huge public demonstrations beginning on Feb. 22, 1986, combined with military opposition and backed by U.S. support, pressured dictator Ferdinand Marcos to resign on Feb. 25.
Today, People Power Anniversary is a school holiday and is celebrated with concerts and activities in major centres. People often wear yellow, the colour of the political party that challenged Marcos and brought the corruption of the government of the day to international powers.
I think most people could benefit from, taking some time to relax and remember what’s good in life this February — even if it does take a day marked on a calendar to remind us to do that.
