February is a month full of fun and historical
significance. On the fun side, there are
celebrations for Valentine’s
Day and Super Bowl festivities. Enjoyable craft
ideas are plentiful and romantic
interludes flourish. For 2006, the
Winter Olympics will provide plenty of competitive entertainment.
Historically, February is the month to celebrate President’s
Day. Abraham
Lincoln was born on February 12,
1809 and George
Washington was born on February
22, 1732. Since their
birthdays fall within ten days of each other, they are remembered together on
February 20th this year.
With the passing of Ronald
Reagan on June 5, 2004,
one can also honor his birthday which occurred on February 6, 1911. Ronald
Reagan will always be remembered primarily for one line “Mr. Gorbachev, tear
down this wall!”
On February 5, Super Bowl XL will be held at Ford Field in Detroit,
Michigan. The Seattle
Seahawks, in their first ever Super Bowl appearance are currently 15-3 and
are set to battle with the Pittsburgh
Steelers who are currently 14-5. Both
teams steam-rolled the competition in the playoffs to make it to the big game.
Winter
Olympic Games XX will take place in Torino,
Italy
from February 10 through February 26,
2006. In the United
States, NBC is promising
416 hours of programming for this international competition. Tune in for snowboarding, skiing, ice
skating and sledding among other events.
The origins of Valentine’s Day
seem to be shrouded in mystery. Many
interesting legends have been circulated since there are actually three Saints
by this name in the history of the Catholic
Church. Some say one of these Saints
performed secret marriages for soldiers and their brides when the soldiers were
under an order forbidding them from marriage during that time. Some say another Saint Valentine had a secret
lover to which he sent greetings from prison.
One thing is for certain, it is a day set aside for showing love to
those we care about and that is always a good thing. Adults enjoy going to nice restaurants and
concentrating on their significant other while children enjoy exchanging cards
with friends and classmates.
Here are some informative links for February: