Should We Rename February? by Joan Reeves

February is the month most people mispronounce. I blame it on January. 

You look at the word February, and your brain erases that "r" before ary—and Febuary comes out of your mouth.

Of course, if the powers that be had named the month Februa, the festival that actually inspired the name, we wouldn't have that problem. 

But no, someone decided to take the Februa and tack "ry" onto it thus giving the English-speaking world a pronunciation problem for all eternity.

WHY FEBRUA?

Februa was the ancient Roman festival of cleansing and atonement held during this time period. It was designed to prepare for the coming spring. (I guess that's how spring cleaning, for which my mother was a strong advocate, came about.)

Girl English Dictionary - Pixabay

 The word shares the Latin root with fever and fume which I read relates to the burning of sacrifices during the purificaton rites. Thank goodness that tradition wasn't passed along with the month's name.

In any event, the month is merifully short. As a famous quotation goes: "If you plan on being depressed, do it in February so it won't last very long."

All that aside, I like February. It's that bridge between winter and spring and gives the snowbound, frozen states hope that spring truly is just around the corner.

GREAT MONTH FOR WRITING

I don't know why, but I find February to be a great month for writing.Maybe it's because I'm raring to go on a new book or finishing one in progress. I feel a burst of energy that makes me want to get out and do something—but the weather outside is usually too lousy to actually do that. So I focus that energy on writing. I'll confess that I also seem to read a lot in February.

Patience Strong said, "In February there is everything to hope for and nothing to regret." I agree with that. What about you? How do you spend the month?

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