African American History Month.  In 1926 Dr. Carter Woodson instituted a week-long celebration of the contributions of African Americans to history. Dr. Woodson chose the week of Abraham Lincoln's birthday (February 12). In recent years the observance has expanded, and now the entire month of February is celebrated as African American History Month. Because of the variation in terms used, this month is also known as Afro-American History or Black History and Black Experience Month. Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, founded by Dr. Woodson in 1915, sets the theme for the month. For information about the theme for this February, contact the association at 202-865-0053 or visit its web site at www.asalh.org.

 Langston Hughes (1902–1967) : African American.  Writer. Hughes emerged as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and became the most influential African American writer of his time. His poetry, which drew on the traditional Black art forms of spirituals, blues, and jazz, won an especially wide audience, but Hughes also distinguished himself as a writer of fiction, drama, essays, and history.

 Thomas Lantos (born Lantos Tamás Péter) (1928–2008) : Jewish American.  Politician and statesman. The only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in the U.S. Congress, Lantos was born in Budapest, Hungary, and joined the resistance against the Nazis during the German occupation of Hungary in World War II. Placed in a Hungarian forced labor camp when he was a teenager, Lantos escaped to a safe house set up by the Swede Raoul Wallenberg. In 1947 he immigrated to the United States on an academic scholarship and attended the University of Washington and the University of California at Berkeley. From 1981 until his death he served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat representing California’s 12th District, becoming chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2007. Initially a strong supporter of the Iraq War, Lantos became increasingly critical of the administration’s conduct of the war. Throughout his career Lantos championed human rights issues worldwide, advocating for religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, supporting Tibetans’ right to cultural and religious freedom, and protesting against the Sudanese genocide in Darfur.

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 Groundhog Day : United States.  

 Candlemas : Christian.  This religious holiday originated with the ancient Jewish custom that required mothers to present their first male child in the temple. As a Jewish mother, Mary would have presented Jesus on February 2. The day is associated with light and purification. The holiday takes its name from the custom of blessing the church's supply of candles for the year on this date.

 Imbolc : Pagan and Wiccan.  Imbolc, which like all Pagan and Wiccan holidays begins at sundown on the day before, is a celebration of fire and light and the return of life. It is also the holy day of St. Brigid, the Goddess of fire, healing, and fertility. Wicca is the common term for many different traditions of Neo-Pagan nature religions that celebrate seasonal and life cycles and revere a Goddess and a God. Most Wiccans celebrate eight Sabbats, or days of power, that comprise the Wheel of the Year: Samhain (the Wiccan New Year), Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltaine, Litha, Lughnasadh and Mabon. Wiccans also celebrate thirteen Esbats, or ritual observances of the full moon, every year. Pagan and Wiccan traditions have a long history preceding that of any of the major Western religions. Originating as agricultural festivals going back for thousands of years, many Sabbat practices were incorporated into Roman, Greek, and other traditions and also found their way into subsequent Western religions. Pagans and Wiccans are not anti-Christ or in opposition to any religion. Their beliefs and practices focus on the earth's seasons and the natural cycles of the world. They stress reverence for nature and belief in ecological principles. As such, Pagans and Wiccans are largely pacifist in nature. Their only “rule” is to “harm none.” Pagans and Wiccans believe that the divine is in everything, and that there are multiple deities and many different pathways to the divine. They also believe in reincarnation. The circle with five points, the “Pentacle,” is the most common symbol used in Wicca. Its five points symbolize Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit, in the circle of eternity. Countries with large Wiccan populations include the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Holland.

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 Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) : Lesbian.  Author. An avant-garde American writer whose Paris home became a salon for the leading artists and writers of the period between World Wars I and II, Gertrude Stein attended Radcliffe College, studying psychology with the philosopher William James. After further study at Johns Hopkins medical school, she went to Paris where she lived with her lifelong companion, Alice B. Toklas. Stein was among the first collectors of works by the Cubists and other experimental painters of the period, such as Pablo Picasso (who painted her portrait), Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque. These painters were introduced to expatriate American writers, such as Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway, and other visitors drawn by her literary reputation. Her first published book, Three Lives (1909), the stories of three working-class women, has been called a minor masterpiece. Her only book to reach a wide public was The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933), actually Stein's own autobiography. The performance in the United States of her Four Saints in Three Acts (1934), which the composer Virgil Thomson had made into an opera, led to a triumphal American lecture tour in 1934–35.

Bean Scattering Festival (Setsubun) : Japan.

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 Betty Friedan (born Bettye Naomi Goldstein) (1921–2006) : Jewish American.  Feminist, activist, and writer. A pioneer in the modern feminist movement, Betty Friedan ushered in the "Second Wave" of feminism with the publication in 1963 of her book, The Feminine Mystique, one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. She chronicled the growing dissatisfaction of women as homemakers in postwar suburban America, identifying their discontent as "the problem that has no name." Friedan's work was one of the forces leading to the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s, a social upheaval reminiscent of the earlier turn-of-the-century campaigns for women's suffrage. A summa cum laude graduate of Smith College, Friedan was one of the founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, and served as its first president until 1970. In 1969 she was a founder of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), and in 1971 Friedan, along with Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, and others, founded the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) to increase women's participation in the political process.

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 Constitution Day : Mexico.  On this day in 1917 Mexico adopted its first constitution. (See entry for November 20.)

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 Bob Marley (1945–1981) : Jamaican.  Musician. Marley was the most influential star of reggae, a Jamaican form of popular music that draws on Afro-Caribbean dance and American soul music and was one of the first musical idioms from the Third World to become popular in Europe and the United States. Reggae is associated with Rastafarianism, a faith founded by Marcus Garvey, whose adherents see the late Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia as a divine figure and themselves as Black Hebrews exiled in the Babylon of western colonial capitalism. Marley's intense, compelling presence and the stirring messages of his songs brought him the acclaim of international audiences and influenced singers and songwriters throughout the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Africa. (See entry for Birthday of Haile Selassie.)

 Waitangi Day : New Zealand.  This commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between the indigenous Maoris of New Zealand and the European colonists, providing for British sovereignty in exchange for guaranteed possession by the Maoris of their lands.

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 Constitution Day : Philippines.  This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of the Philippines in 1935.

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February 9, Monday 

Lantern Festival (Yuan-hsiao) : China.

 Taeborum (tay-bore-oom) : South Korea.  Taeborum is the day of the first full moon of the Korean lunar year, marking the end of the traditional New Year's holiday season and the beginning of the agricultural cycle. The holiday is celebrated with a folk festival, Jishin Balpgi, when people bang loudly on drums and gongs to drive away the evil spirits of the old year and to usher in peace, health, and prosperity for the coming year. In the evening, everyone gathers at the center of the village to revel under the first full moon.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: Nuts of various kinds, particularly peanuts, walnuts, and pine nuts, can be given as a gift. According to a traditional custom, upon arising early in the morning, people must eat as many nuts as their age. (m)

 St. Maroon's Day : Lebanon.  Public holiday.

T'u B'Shvat (New Year of the Trees) : Jewish.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: It is a custom to honor a person by having a tree planted in Israel in his or her name. One of many Web sites for information about this custom is http://www.treesfortheholyland.com/. (m)

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 Butter Sculpture Festival : Tibet.  Also known as the Butter Lamp Festival, this holiday is celebrated on the evening of the fifteenth day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar year. It is part of Monlam Chenmo, the Great Prayer Festival of Tibetan Buddhism held after the New Year. People make pilgrimages to the monastery in Kumbum to witness a spectacular display of sculptures, all hand-sculpted from yak butter by the monks and painted in vibrant colors, depicting Buddhist deities, events from the stories of Sakyamuni's previous births, and various events in Tibetan folklore and religious history. These exquisite butter sculptures, some of which are thirty feet high, are illuminated on this special night by hundreds of butter lamps. As ephemeral as they are beautiful, all of the sculptures will be destroyed by the monks before dawn, a reminder of the Buddhist belief in the impermanence of all things. (m)

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February 11, Wednesday 

National Foundation Day (Kenkoku Kinen Bi) : Japan.

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 Tadeusz (Thaddeus) Kosciuszko (1746–1817) : Polish.  Soldier and statesman. As a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Kosciuszko planned the fortifications that helped defeat the British at the battle of Saratoga. For his service to the cause of American independence, Congress awarded him American citizenship. After returning to Poland in 1784 and becoming a major general in the Polish army in 1789, Kosciuszko emerged as a military and political leader, pressing for democratic reforms in Polish government and society and leading Polish forces against Russian armies sent to suppress the Polish movement for independence in 1791 and again in 1794. After his final defeat in 1794, he spent the rest of his life in exile.

 Lincoln’s Birthday : United States.  This day commemorates the birth of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), one of the greatest presidents of the United States, who changed the course of history by preserving the American Union during the Civil War, thereby preserving American democracy. In the process of saving the Union, Lincoln issued the historic Emancipation Proclamation, which paved the way for the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ending slavery in the United States. Lincoln’s eloquence and conviction are reflected in such historic speeches as the Gettysburg Address, given at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania during the Civil War, when he declared that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." On this day, wreath-laying ceremonies are held at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois. The year 2009 marks the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, with many celebrations planned to commemorate the sixteenth president’s 200th birthday. (See entry for Washington's Birthday.)

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 Richard Allen (1760–1831) : African American.  Minister. In 1787 Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church to give African Americans the opportunity to worship in a setting free of racial discrimination. His Bethel Church in Philadelphia became a focal point of organized protest by African Americans against slavery and racial discrimination in the North.

 Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) : African American.  Writer, lecturer, editor, and abolitionist. Born a slave, Frederick Augustus Bailey escaped at the age of 21, changed his name, and became a renowned campaigner for the abolition of slavery. After publishing his autobiography in 1845, Douglass made a lecture tour of England, where friends raised money to buy his freedom. Upon his return he founded a newspaper, the North Star. During the Civil War Douglass urged President Lincoln to free the slaves and arm African Americans. After the war Douglass held a variety of federal offices, including that of Minister to Haiti.

 Masao Satow (1908–1977) : Japanese American.  Civic leader. Born in California to Japanese American parents, Satow joined the Japanese American Citizens League, an emerging national organization for persons of Japanese ancestry born in the United States, in 1932. He became its national secretary in 1947, when the organization had only two chapters, both on the West Coast, and 3,100 members. At the end of his twenty-five years of leadership, the organization had 94 chapters across the nation and 27,000 members.

 Valentine's Day : United States.  The origins of this day are confused. There appear to have been two or three early Christian martyrs named Valentine. One was probably executed on February 14. One man named Valentine secretly married young sweethearts in opposition to the Roman Emperor Claudius' ban on marriage (a policy designed to prevent young men of military age from forming family ties). Another legend mentions flowers grown by Valentine and given to children. When Valentine was imprisoned the children remembered him by throwing nosegays and notes into his prison window. These were the original Valentine greetings.

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 Susan B[rownell] Anthony (1820–1906) : Suffragist, United States.  Quaker, teacher, abolitionist, and women's rights activist. Born in Adams, Massachusetts, Anthony was a leader of the movement to gain women the right to vote. As a leader of the Women's Temperance Movement along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she secured the first laws in New York State giving women control over their children, property, and wages.

 Nirvana (Buddha's Death) : Buddhist.  In the Mahãyãna Buddhist tradition, this day marks the death of Buddha in 483 B.C.E. and commemorates his attainment of final Nirvana. The date is based on the Japanese Buddhist calendar.

 Liberation Day : Afghanistan.  

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February 16, Monday 

Arbaeen : Islamic.

 Independence Day : Lithuania.  In 1918 Lithuania declared its independence from Russia. However, in the aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union absorbed Lithuania into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and it was not until August 19, 1991 that Lithuania regained its independence.

 Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) : United States.  The birthday of George Washington (1732–1799), hero of the Revolutionary War, president of the Constitutional Convention, and first president of the United States of America, is observed on this day. Celebrated for the first time in the late eighteenth century when George Washington was still president, Washington’s Birthday became an official federal holiday in 1885. The Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968, which took effect in 1971, moved the holiday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. As a number of states also celebrated the February 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln, some legislators advocated combining the two holidays into a single holiday called Presidents’ Day. That proposal was rejected by Congress and the official name of the holiday remained Washington’s Birthday. However, since state governments are not obliged to adopt federal holidays and can determine their own legal holidays, some states, such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas, renamed their state holiday "Presidents' Day," while other states, including Connecticut, Illinois, and Missouri, chose to observe two separate holidays to commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. (See entry for Lincoln’s Birthday.) (m)

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 Marian Anderson (1902–1993) : African American.  Singer. Gifted with a rich contralto that the conductor Arturo Toscanini called "the kind of voice heard once in a hundred years," Marian Anderson rose from modest beginnings in Philadelphia to become an internationally acclaimed concert artist, renowned for her interpretations of the classical repertoire and of African American spirituals. During her 1933 Scandinavian concert tour, Anderson was encouraged by her accompanist Kosti Vehanen, a Finnish pianist, to learn some songs by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and perform for him at his home. Sibelius was so impressed by Anderson that he wrote an original composition for her. In 1939, Anderson was barred from performing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because of her race, whereupon First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest. The federal government invited Anderson to sing instead at a public recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, Marian Anderson gave her now-historic recital before a crowd of more than 75,000 people, the largest to date ever assembled at the Memorial. In 1955, thirty years after beginning her concert career, she became the first African American to sing a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Widely admired for her humane spirit, she served on the United States delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1958 and won the United Nations peace prize in 1977.

 Goyaale (Geronimo) (1829–1909) : American Indian (Chiricahua Apache).  Military leader. As chief of the Chiricahua Apache Indians, Geronimo escaped repeatedly from reservations and led attacks on settlers and soldiers in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States during the late 1870s and early 1880s. He surrendered to U.S. government forces in 1885. This is the anniversary of his death.

 Randy Shilts (1952–1994) : Gay.  Author and journalist. The national correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, Shilts was one of the first openly gay journalists hired at a major newspaper. Shilts' best-selling books include The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (1982), And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic (1987), and Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S. Military (1993). And the Band Played On was made into a docudrama that was broadcast on HBO on September 11, 1993. Band has been translated into seven languages and released in 16 nations. Conduct Unbecoming won numerous awards, earning Shilts the designation of Author of the Year in 1988 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. This is the date of his death from AIDS.

 Declaration of Independence : Republic of Kosovo.  

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 Sholom Aleichem (born Solomon Rabinowitz) (1854–1916) : Jewish Russian American.  Writer. Born in Ukraine, Rabinowitz began writing in Yiddish in 1883, using as his pseudonym the Yiddish greeting "Peace be upon you." His best known works are his stories of Jewish life in the villages of Eastern Europe. Along with I. Peretz and Mendele Sforim, he is considered one of the founders of modern Yiddish literature.

 Audre Geraldin Lorde (1934–1992) : Lesbian.  Poet and essayist. Audre Lorde was a Black lesbian who fought for justice through both her writings and her political activities. She held a number of teaching positions and toured internationally as a lecturer, forming coalitions between Afro-German and Afro-Dutch women, founding a sisterhood in South Africa, starting the Women of Color Press, and establishing the St. Croix Women's Coalition. Her poetry collections include From a Land Where Other People Live (1973), The Black Unicorn (1978), Our Dead Behind Us (1986), and The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance (1993). She won the American Book Award in 1989 for A Burst of Light and was appointed New York State's Poet Laureate by then Governor Mario Cuomo in 1991. Lorde chronicled her 14-year battle against breast cancer in works such as The Cancer Journals, before finally succumbing to the disease in 1992.

 Luis Muñoz Marín : Puerto Rican.  Political leader. Elected Puerto Rico's first governor in 1948, Muñoz Marín served in that office until 1964, instituting programs of economic development and social reform. He also proposed a plan for maintaining Puerto Rico's union with the United States while establishing the island as a self-governing unit exempt from U.S. taxes. This proposal became the basis for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, created by an act of Congress and proclaimed in 1952.

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 Barbara Jordan (1936–1996) : African American.  Lawyer, politician, teacher. Born in Houston, Texas, Jordan graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern University and Boston University Law School. In 1966, she was the first Black woman to be elected to the Texas State Senate. She later became the first woman and first African American elected to Congress from Texas.

 International Mother Language Day : United Nations.  This day was proclaimed by UNESCO on November 17, 1999 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and to celebrate the nearly six thousand languages spoken in the world today. It is observed on February 21 in international recognition of Language Martyrs’ Day in Bangladesh. (See following entry for Martyrs’ Day (Shaheed Dibash).)

 Martyrs’ Day (Shaheed Dibash) : Bangladesh.  Also known as Language Martyrs’ Day or National Mourning Day, this commemorates the lives sacrificed in the effort to make Bengali (or Bangla) one of the national languages when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. At the time, the West Pakistani regime was trying to force Urdu as the national language. On this day in 1952 a procession by Bengalis in Dhaka was shot at by police, resulting in the death of four martyrs. The nascent Bengali nationalism ultimately led to the creation of the nation of Bangladesh. This day was declared International Mother Language Day by Bangladesh and UNESCO on November 17, 1999.

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 Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin) (1876–1938) : American Indian (Sioux).  Writer and activist. Born in South Dakota to a full-blooded Sioux mother and a White father, Zitkala-Sa became an eloquent writer of essays and memoirs and a leader in the movement to advance the civic, educational, and economic opportunities of American Indians while recognizing and preserving American Indian cultures. As secretary of the Society of American Indians and then president of the National Council of American Indians, she lectured, wrote, and lobbied on behalf of Indian legislation, and was instrumental in the passage of the Indian Citizenship Bill of 1924. (See entry for June 2.)

 People Power Day (2/22–2/25) : Philippines.  This commemorates the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines as a dictatorship from 1972 to 1986, by the democracy movement. This holiday is commonly celebrated from February 22 to February 25. It was on February 25 that Ferdinand Marcos left the Philippines and Corazon Aquino was recognized by the United States as president.

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 W[illiam] E[dward] B[urkhardt] Du Bois (1868–1963) : African American.  Writer and civil rights activist. Scholar, writer, and editor, Du Bois was the most important leader of the effort to secure basic civil and human rights for African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century. Trained in sociology, history, and philosophy, he wrote a number of scholarly works about the social conditions of Blacks in America. The most famous of these, The Souls of Black Folk, was especially influential; it attacked Booker T. Washington's strategy of accommodation and urged a more activist approach to improving the conditions of Black Americans. Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement, an organization of Black intellectuals working for civil rights, in 1905, and in 1909 helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He edited the NAACP magazine The Crisis until 1934, when he resigned to devote his time to teaching and writing.

 Casimir Funk (1884–1967) : Jewish Polish American.  Scientist. Funk discovered vitamins as well as making contributions to understanding sex hormones, hormone-vitamin balance, and cancer treatment. His work stimulated public interest in diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies.

 Bun Day (Shrove Monday) : Iceland.  Icelanders celebrate the Monday before Lent by feasting on cream buns. These delicacies are filled with jam and whipped cream, and often iced with melted chocolate. On Bun Day, children wake up early and try to catch their parents still in bed. If they do, they "strike" their parents with colorful handmade "bun wands," or bolludagsvöndur, which are decorated with strips of paper and gleaming ribbon. Parents must then give their children one cream bun for every "blow" received. This custom is thought to have derived from the acts of penance performed during Lent, evolving over time into a lighthearted children's game. Bolla, which means "bun," also refers to other round foods eaten on this day, such as meatballs or fishballs (fiskibollur). (m)

 Great Lent begins : Coptic Orthodox Christian.  Also known as the Great Fast, this begins the Lenten season for the Coptic Orthodox Christians, who follow the Julian calendar. It begins with a one-week preparatory fast, followed by a 40-day fast commemorating Christ’s fasting on the mountain. The fast of Great Lent, which includes Sundays, officially ends on the Saturday before Holy Week, known as Lazarus Saturday, although fasting continues during Holy Week (Pascha). During this time, no animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, or butter, are allowed. Moreover, no food or drink may be taken between sunrise and sunset.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: Before inviting someone to lunch or hosting a meal, check to see whether invitee is observing the fast for this period. (m)

Maha Shivaratri (Shiva's Night) : Hindu.

 Shrove Monday : Christian.  Christians in some countries customarily make treats to use up butter and eggs before the 40-day fast of Lent. (m)

 Defenders of the Motherland Day : Russia.  On this day, Russia honors those who are serving in the Armed Forces and those who have served in the past.

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 Bursting Day (Shrove Tuesday) : Iceland.  Traditionally the last day that people could eat meat before Lent, this is a day when Icelanders celebrate by eating saltkjöt og baunir, or salted meat and split pea soup, to the point of bursting. (m)

 Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) : Christian.  Shrove Tuesday marks the final midwinter fling before Lent begins. (m)

 Flag Day : Mexico.  Public holiday.

 Independence Day : Estonia.  

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 Enrico Caruso (1873–1931) : Italian American.  Opera singer. The most acclaimed operatic tenor of his time, Caruso was also the first great singer whose voice is preserved in recordings.

 José de San Martín (1778–1850) : Argentine.  Soldier and statesman. With Simón Bolívar, San Martín led the movement of Spain’s South American colonies to win their freedom from Spain. In 1811 he resigned from the Spanish army to organize the armed resistance to Spanish rule in the land of his birth, modern-day Argentina. He raised an army there and led it over the Andes to Chile, taking Santiago in 1817, and then organized a Chilean navy to transport the rebel army to Lima. There he proclaimed the establishment of a new country on July 28, 1821. Although he was made leader of the new nation, he came into political conflict with Bolívar and retired to France. The anniversary of his death is observed as a national holiday on the third Monday in August. (See entry for Death of General José de San Martín observed.)

 Ash Wednesday (beginning of Lent) : Christian.  This marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting preceding Easter Sunday (February 25 to April 11, excluding Sundays). It is observed in memory of Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the desert. In the early centuries of Christianity, there were strict requirements for fasting during the period of preparation for Easter. Although these rules have been relaxed in the Western church, many Roman Catholics and Protestants choose to give up a favorite food or activity during Lent. There are many symbolic meanings to the use of ashes on this holiday. Generally, ashes symbolize death. The priest or minister's placing of ashes on one's forehead in the shape of a cross is part of the preparation for fasting and resistance to temptation by those observing Lent that ends in the symbolic renewal of life on Easter. The word Lent comes from Middle English lenten or lente, from the Old English lencten or lengten, meaning spring—the time of year when the days begin to lengthen.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: Before inviting someone to lunch or hosting a meal, check to see whether invitee is observing a special diet for this period. (m)

 National Day (2/25–2/26) : Kuwait.  Also observed on February 26, this two-day holiday marks the successful pushing back of Iraqi troops from Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991.

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 Intercalary Days (2/26–3/1) : Baha'i.  The days from February 26 to March 1 adjust the Baha'i year, which consists of 19 months with 19 days each month, to the solar calendar. These days are observed with gift-giving, special acts of charity, and preparation for fasting that precedes the new year. (See discussion under Holidays and Work Schedules.)

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 Independence Day : Dominican Republic.  This day commemorates the retreat in 1844 of the Haitians who had controlled the country.

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