Two great things about February. It’s not January and at least it’s short.
Stop it, I hear you cry. You were lukewarm about December and scathing about January. It’s cold and grey, but we are in it together - so let’s have something to rejoice over!
Well okay then. Let’s get a bit weird. Because February is weird – take the usual twenty-eight-day duration. It’s the length a month should be. It’s appropriate and right. And weird in that the other months are actually weirdly long! So it’s a month of evenness, of regularity and balance. Unless it’s a leap year, which is a marvel in itself. A kind of magical day that appears and then disappears again, a bit like a portal, as we catch up with the great celestial clock.
But there is something else that’s rather magical about February – the cross-quarter day. The what? The day that falls between the solstice and the equinox, of course. There are four of them in the year and they are of particular importance to more agrarian, pagan traditions. The one in February, usually around 1st–2nd February, is known as Imbolc and it is a festival of light. It marks the first whispers of Spring, as we begin to see that the nights really are getting shorter. It honours hearth and home, and the lighting of candles or bonfires reminds us that the warmth of the sun will return to us soon.
And it is the month of love, with Valentine’s Day. Don’t groan – bear with me. According to legend, Saint Valentine was a martyr who restored the sight of his jailor’s daughter. So perhaps a notion of metaphorical seeing and giving makes us take notice and cherish those we love and who love us. We honour that special person we are with or are yet to be with. For we all need love, because Love is All You Need! Forget a massively posh and expensive night out. Give flowers or something sweet to your loved one. Have a favourite supper and a spot of hanky panky to chase away the winter blues. And for those who have not found their person, light a red candle and make a wish then spend a fun evening with other love seekers. And if you are broken-hearted, know that it too will pass and you will come to love again.
See! February is not about gloom at all, it’s light and short, magical and full of love, so enjoy…