February 21, 2020

The month of February is the shortest—normally only 28 days—on the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, many people may be grateful for that, as February is the typically cold last full month of winter. (In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the last full month of summer.) In parts of North America, some Native Americans referred to this time of year as the “snow moon” because of the month’s heavy snows. Other Native Americans called it the “little famine moon” because of the scarcity of food at the end of winter. The ancient Celts of Europe referred to the frigid time of year as the “ice moon.”

Ancient Celts referred to the February time of year as the “ice moon,” a name that better describes Enceladus, a satellite of Saturn. Enceladus has active geysers that spout water ice. The moon’s icy surface is continually smoothed by this activity and shows few craters. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

According to legend, the first calendar of the ancient Romans had only 10 months. But in about 700 B.C., the ruler Numa Pompilius added January and February. February became the last month of the Roman year. The month takes its name from the Latin word februare, meaning to purify. The Romans purified themselves in February to prepare for festivals at the start of the new year. Later, the Romans moved the beginning of the year from March to January, making February the second month.

February usually had 28 days until the time of the Roman statesman Julius Caesar. Caesar gave it 29 days in standard years and 30 every four years. According to tradition, the Roman emperor Augustus took one day off February to add to August, the month named after him. Today, February has 28 days in standard years and 29 in leap years.

In the United States, February is designated as Black History Month, a time to honor the accomplishments of African Americans and their contributions to society. The third Monday in February was chosen as Presidents’ Day to honor the nearby birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). February 2 is recognized in a more whimsical fashion as Groundhog Day.

In Japan, people celebrate a holiday called Setsubun on February 3 or 4. According to the lunar calendar used in the past, this date marks the changing of the seasons and the end of winter. Another holiday in Japan is National Foundation Day, celebrated on February 11. According to tradition, Jimmu founded the imperial dynasty and the empire of Japan on that day in 660 B.C. People in most Western countries celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. February 21 is Shaheed Dibash (Martyrs’ Day) in Bangladesh. On this day, people remember those who died during demonstrations that called for the Bengali language to have equal status with the Urdu language in 1952, when Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan.

March 19, 2015

Genetic scientists have found that residents from different regions in the United Kingdom who claim a broad kinship based on a shared Celtic heritage actually descended from several genetically unrelated groups. A study by Oxford geneticist Peter Donnelly and his colleagues, published in the journal Nature, shows that there is no such thing as a single Celtic people today. The scientists also found that most of the ancient peoples who invaded the United Kingdom left almost no genetic mark on the modern population.

The tomb of an Iron Age Celtic prince has been unearthed in a small French town. The biggest find at the site was a huge wine cauldron. Standing on the handles of the cauldron, is the Greek god Acheloos. The river deity is shown with horns, a beard, the ears of a bull and a triple mustache. Credit: © Denis Gliksman, INRAP

The Celts were inhabitants of ancient Europe. The earliest evidence of Celtic culture comes from the village of Hallstatt, near Salzburg, Austria, dating from about 700 to 500 B.C. At its greatest extent, Celtic culture extended from present-day Portugal to the Balkans, and from Austria to the southern coast of France. Celtic-speaking people lived in what is now the United Kingdom by the mid-600′s B.C. Over the next 1,700 years, the land was invaded by a series of peoples. The chief invaders were the Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes, and Normans. Most scholars believed that modern-day residents of the United Kingdom are descendants of these early peoples and invaders.

The scientists examined DNA samples obtained from 2,039 people from all parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The sample, however, was not random. All of the people sampled had grandparents who, known from family history, had all been born within 50 miles (80kilometers) of each other. In effect, this study examined the genetic diversity of the United Kingdom in 1885, the average year of the birth of the grandparents. By doing this, the scientists removed the effects of modern transportation and the large population shifts that have occurred since the 1900’s. This provided a glimpse at the genetic diversity of the United Kingdom from a simpler time, when people rarely moved far away from where they were born. They compared the DNA samples to more than 6,000 DNA samples taken from people in Continental Europe.

The results of the DNA analysis showed that large swathes of the United Kingdom are populated by a relatively homogenous genetic group largely of Anglo-Saxon origin, with many genetic similarities to the French and Germans of Continental Europe. Almost no genetic elements that could be traced to Roman or Viking invasions were found. The scientists also tested DNA among people in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall, where many people claim a shared Celtic heritage. The scientists found no evidence of Celtic ancestry among these groups. Scientists believe that in these areas, Celtic culture was introduced through trade with continental Celts, which would not leave any genetic traces as would migration and intermarriage.