February :curiosities.....Curiosidades de Febrero

Facts about February: its gemstone is the Amethyst and

its flower the Primrose. Did you know that the Romans and the Celts regarded February as the start of spring? The word comes from 'februa'-which means purification, and reflects the rituals undertaken before Spring. The Anglo Saxons called February 'Sol-monath' or cake-month because cakes were offered to the gods during that month.

• Customs and Traditions:

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2nd February is Candlemas Day (the Christian festival of lights): This ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox. This feast is called Candlemas because that was the day on which the year's supply of candles for the church were blessed.
St Valentine's Day was originally thought to be the day on which birds chose their mates. Other traditions are Ash Wednesday or Kissing Friday when English schoolboys were once entitled to kiss girls in without fear of punishment or rejection, a custom that lasted until at least the 1940s.

• Anniversaries: During this month in different years, for example Robert Peel formed the first police force in London, hence nickname 'Bobbies'; Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne on 6th in 1952; Charles Dickens was born, Sir Francis Drake became the first known Englishman to sail the pacific in 1578 or the cinema came to Britain when a programme of films was shown for the first time to a paying audience in 1896.

The Legend of the Snowdrop

The flower called snowdrop appears in February and is a symbol of hope. According to legend, the snowdrop became the symbol of hope when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. When Eve was about to give up hope that the cold winters would never end, an angel appeared. She transformed some of the snowflakes into snowdrop flowers, proving that the winters do eventually give way to the spring.

La gema del mes de Febrero es la amatista y su flor la primavera. Para los romanos y celtas este mes marcaba la mitad del invierno; para los anglosajones era el mes de los pasteles porque se les ofrecían a los dioses. Los días más importantes de este mes son el día de las velas, el de San Valentín, miércoles de ceniza o el viernes de los besos, una costumbre que ha permanecido hasta los años cuarenta en la que los niños podían besar a las niñas sin temor de ser castigados o rechazados. Entre los aniversarios caben destacar la subida al trono de Isabel II, el nacimiento de Dickens o el primer pase de películas con audiencia de pago. No te pierdas la leyenda de Snowdrop ( o campanilla blanca): es fácil de entender en inglés.