Why Seven Days?

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Not all grackles migrate and some may have migrated from farther north to where you live in winter. But if you spot a number of seemingly newly arrived blackbirds with yellow eyes and wedgeshaped tails in your yard or at the park in February or early March, you may be witnessing a sign that spring is just around the corner.

Holidays and Special Days

Origins of St. Valentine's Day
While many people would like to know exactly who St. Valentine was, the truth is that very little is known about him. No one knows where or when he lived. As for how the saint came to be associated with lovers, it's pretty much speculation.

One theory is that February 14 was date on which birds begin to mate, making it an appropriate time for human lovers to become romantically involved. Others say February 2 is the day when lovers were originally paired together for spring weddings, but that date was moved to the 14th before the 15th century because it was thought inappropriate to have it occur on the same day as Candlemas, a day associated with the Virgin Mary.

In the Pagan Book of Days by Nigel Pennick (Destiny Books; 1992), the claim is made that February 14 was the day of Juno Februa, "the goddess of love:' Of course, Venus is the primary goddess of love in Roman mythology, so who was Juno Februa? When I looked up the various forms of the queen goddess in a mythology encyclopedia, I found 15 mentions of the name Juno, but none of Juno Februa. In Roman custom, the febra were the rites of purification and of the dead; the month Febrarius (February)-the last month in the original Roman year-was devoted to these rites.

[Editor's Note. In issue #141, times and dates should have been listed for the star charts. For the top chart, view the stars at 10 P.m. in mid-January, and 8 P.m. in mid-February. For the bottom chart, view at midnight (standard time) in mid-March, 11 P.m. (daylight savings time) in midApril, and at 9 P.m. (daylight savings time) in midMay.

Almanac for February and March 1884

February 1884

1 Mercury, Saturn conjunction.
2 Candlemas; Groundhog Day.
3 LAST QUARTER MOON, 3:06 Am.
4 Mercury at greatest eastern elongation in evening sky.
5 Halfway point of winter.
10 NEW MOON, 9:30 A.M.; Chinese New Year 4692 (Year of the Dog).
12 Lincoln's Birthday.
14 St. Valentine's Day.
15 Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras).
16 Ash Wednesday (Lent begins and continues until Easter, which is April 3 this year); Sun enters constellation Aquarius.
18 FIRST QUARTER NEON, 12:47 p.m.; Sun enters astrological sign Pisces.
21 President's Day.
22 Washington's Birthday.
25 FULL MOON (Snow Moon or Hurler Moon), 8:15 PM.

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