10 Reasons Why February Is Fabulous

February with its indecisive not-spring-yet weather can drive anyone crazy. Still, there are so many reasons to nominate it as one of the best months of the entire year. The TV is good, the sales are on and you would not believe how many food-related holidays it has! Explore all the bright sides of the last winter month (I've counted ten so far).

1. Valentine's Day

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Curiously enough, this very reason often cited by Feb-haters to justify their resentment. They could not be more wrong! St. Valentine's day can only be annoying if you are a bore. This day is a perfect excuse for getting presents, going out to have dinner with friends, eating heart-shaped chocolate cakes or all of the above. Do not forget those sweet candies with cute compliments and well wishes written on them. What not to love? This is the day to celebrate everyone (or everything) you love.

By the way, the tradition is rooted, in the rites of spring and is also connected with birds (at least in England). So if you are a bird person, this is your day!

2. No Fast Food Challenge

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Speaking of trimming things down, February is the month when you say "bye-bye" to pizzas, hamburgers, French fries, tacos, fizzy drinks and "hello" to a healthier diet.

Although fast-food can be considered a part of the unique American cuisine (it even has its unofficial holiday), we can use some detox after weeks and weeks of overindulgence during winter holidays. February is a perfect time to do it for a number of reasons. First, it will improve your shape, which you can show off in spring, getting under the layers of coats. Second, it will be easier to avoid temptation for only 28 days and finish this challenge victoriously. Besides, everything is more fun if it involves alliteration (No-Shave November anyone?)

3. Carnivals

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Unlike Valentine's and Oscar, this feast for the eyes does not happen in February every year. The days depend on the beginning of the Lent each year, and that depends on the moon calendar, so it all gets a bit complicated.

Yet this time we are in luck and the fabulous festivities are held in February. Even if you try very hard, you cannot think of something more splendid, sparkly and loud. This makes carnivals great tourist attractions: up to 400 000 foreigners visit the carnival in Rio de Janeiro alone. However, all carnivals – Brazilian, Venetian, or New Orleans Mardi Gras – are the unique cultural expression and a chance for people today to get in touch with their heritage.

4. World Nutella Day

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Back in 2007, an American blogger named Sara Rosso decided that if you love something very much, it deserves a holiday. As she was, among other things, a Nutella fan, she devoted a day to this nutty obsession of hers. Other fans embraced the day with gusto and it spread the love all over social media. Later things became official. In 2015 Sara transferred the day to the creators if this glorified hazelnut spread and the 5th of February is now widely known as no less than a World Nutella Day.

 What does it mean for you? You can eat it with a spoon with no excuse of a pastry and no one will judge you. 'Nuff said.

5. Pancake Day

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Pancake Day is not another funny holiday that was invented by the fans of a particular treat, although it sounds like one. The holiday is celebrated all over the world under different names (one of them is Mardi Gras, for that matter), yet pancakes or some other form of fatty pastry is the meal for the occasion. The day used to be the last festivity and overindulgence before the long fasting begins, followed by Easter celebrations. However, the tradition is even older than this medieval explanation it and has pagan roots. The pancakes are solar symbols that were eaten to mark the beginning of the spring (or rather to ensure its timely arrival).

Anyway, it is a great excuse to have some comfort food for breakfast! Remember, it is a no-fast-food time, so doughnuts are off the table.

6. Super Bowl

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Enough bread, let's talk about games. February is the month when the annual championship game of the National Football League is played. One of the most watched annual sporting events in the world has gathered a whopping 114.4 million viewers last year.

Apart from supporting your team, the event has additional luster: the pre-game and halftime ceremonies with greatest star performers participating. If that is not exiting, I do not know what is.

7. Awards Season

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Another great spectacle of the season are all those glamorous people with their stunning outfits and long speeches. Oscar Season, BAFTA, Annie – you name it – almost everything happens in February. This is the occasion to become a red carpet critic in the comfort of your home.

The pinnacle event of the season, the 90th Academy Awards, however, is scheduled for the March 4 this year. Yet there is still enough glitz left with Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Visual Effects Society Awards, and other silver screen celebrations.

8. Drink Wine Day

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I am not encouraging you to increase your alcohol intake here, but if are thinking about having a glass or two on some special occasion, there is no classier drink than wine. The mere act of pouring it from the bottle into the stemware is aesthetic. It's only fair that vino has its very own annual holiday celebrated on February 18.

The Ancient Greeks used wine as a cultural discriminator: unlike "the barbarians" (in essence, everyone else), Greeks used to water their wine down. This practice does not seem to be a good idea today, but that was their way to moderate the intake. That is the important takeaway. When drunk in moderation, red wines are known for their health benefits: the ability to improve cholesterol, fight free radical damage, help manage diabetes, fight obesity and prevent cognitive decline.

9. Second Chance for New Year's Resolutions

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The harsh reality is this: 80% of all resolution fail by the second week of February. Catalyzed by holiday remorse, those lists are topped by dieting and exercising. No wonder that in a month most of us just do not have enough oomph to make all those good intentions last. But don't let it discourage you! In fact, you can simply write the January off as a trial month and start your new life in February.  It is a second chance for your resolution list.

Whatever it is that seems to be fuller than you need – your kitchen shelves, your closet, our computers, your waist... If you failed to trim things down and put everything in order in January, now is the time! You can do it!

10. Spring is almost there!

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The days become longer, the evenings lighter, a countdown to spring begins. Besides, since February is the shortest month, it makes spring two days closer than it could be. How nice of it!

But seriously, how did it ended up being this embarrassingly short?  In a way, it did draw the shortest straw because it's cold and no one likes it. Which is unfair, I hope you agree with me by now.

The reason for February's day-deficiency is complicated. It all started with Romans (as so many things in this world). Their calendar used to serve the agricultural needs, started with March and had only 10 months (304 days). Initially, there were no January and February. Only the nameless chunk of time left before new year kick off with spring. This was a mess, of course.

Various crazy solutions were applied in the course of history to deal with this. First, they've made a sound decision that a year should have twelve months (according to lunar cycles) and introduced January and February. However, according to Roman superstitions, the odd numbers were luckier than the even ones, so they made every month either 29 or 31. Except for the February, that was so last one, so it stuck with what was left having only 28.

When Julius Caesar aligned the solar and lunar years and rearranged the number of days, he just left February as it was.

Who needs another long winter month, anyway? Albeit a month as fabulous as February. Like everyone else, Caesar just wanted it to be spring already!