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Calendar for February Events, Festivals and Folklore

Month of dedication to Februa, Roman Goddess of love and fertility. Februa, also Februatio was the Roman festival of purification, also commonly referred to as Lupercalia. The festival is basically one of spring washing or cleaning, which occurred on the 15th day of the Roman month. A later Roman god Februus personified both the month and also purification, and is named for them.

Wednesday 1st / Thursday 2nd Feast of the Goddess Brigit; Celtic festival of Imbolc
Candlemas -
'If Candlemas Day be dry and fair The half of winter is to come, and mair, If Candlemas Day be wet and foul, The half of the winter is gone at Yule.

Festival of Ceres - Sacred to the Roman Goddess of grain.

Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th Feast of Goddess Isis (Egyptian)

Sunday 5th Feast of the Air Spirits (Celtic)

Monday 6th Festival of Aphrodite (Greek)
Feast of IA (Celtic)

Tuesday 7th Full Moon
Day of Selene (Greek)

Wednesday 8th In 1855 the inhabitants of Devon were waking to a light snowfall, intrigued to find a track of footprints extending for 100 miles in a near straight line, appearing to have been made by a cloven-hooved, two-legged animal, which has defied explanation to this day

Thursday 9th Feast of Apollo (Greek) the god of the sun, which celebrates the increasing light of the New Year after the darkness of midwinter.

Friday 10th Festival of Teutates - ancient Celtic god of war, fertility and wealth

Saturday 11th to 14th Lunar New Year (Old European)

Sunday 12th Festival of Diana, Roman Goddess of Light, Moon Goddess, Lunar Virgin,Goddess of Wildwood, Divine Huntress, Protector of Animals, Lady of Beasts

Monday 13th Disting - Festival at the beginning of the Norse Spring. Offerings were made to the Deities (particularly Odin and Frigg, Freyr and Freyja)

Monday 13th to Tuesday 14th Anthesterion Nourmenia, Greek Festival honouring all of the Gods and Goddesses

Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th Lupercalia - pre-Roman festival to avert evil spirits and purify, releasing health and fertility. Also dedication to the Roman God and Goddess, Faunus and Fauna

Tuesday 14th St. Valentine's Day

Wednesday 15th Sigfrid's Day (Odinist)

Thursday 16th to Friday 17th Festival of Aphrodite and Eros (Greek)

Friday 17th Celtic Tree Month of Rowan ends

Saturday 18th Celtic Tree Month of Ash begins

Saturday 18th to Sunday 19th Feast of Goddess Artemis (Greek)

Sunday 19th Birthday of Minerva, the Roman name of Greek goddess Athena. the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music.

Monday 20th Dark Moon

Tuesday 21st Burnham on Sea Moot, from 7:30 at the Dunstan Inn

Wednesday 22nd Caristia, Festival of family renewal and settling of quarrels(Roman)

Thursday 23rd Terminalia - Roman festival of the God Terminus, protector of boundaries

Thursday 23rd to Sunday 26th Anthesteria; Festival honouring Dionysus as Plouton, God of the Dead (Greek)

Folklore taken from 'The English Year' by Steve Roud. Other references gathered from numerous sources of old and out-of-print material.