This picture comes from Tres riches heures du Duc de Berry. Tres Riches Heures is a book of hours; a collection of prayers to be said at the canonical hours and probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century.
I think the calendar images in this manuscript are just exquisite, filled with details of medieval life in rich, vivid colors. Did you notice the four bee skeps on a table next to the grain silo? In the background, you can see a church steeple and what looks to be a small village. You can read more about the Tres Riches Heures and see more of the illustrations Here and Here.
January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar (the Romans originally considered winter to be a monthless period). In the Gregorian calendar, February is the second month of the year, and approximately every four years, on leap year, February contains 29 days. Having only 28 days in common years, February is the only month of the year that can pass without a single full moon. The last time this happened was in 1999, and it will happen again in 2018. I never knew this, did you? According to this site the full moon will be Tuesday, February 3rd.
Because it has less than 30 days, February always feels like a short month to me, and that's kind of nice since it's right in the middle of the coldest part of the year. In addition to Valentine's Day, we have Groundhog Day (today) and we get to see that cute little Punxsutawney Phil. :-D There's also the Superbowl Game on the first Sunday of February, President's Day, and Flag Day in Canada on February 15th. Here in our family, we have three birthdays to celebrate, as well.
Speaking of groundhogs, Groundhog Jimmy bit the mayor of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, today at the Groundhog Day ceremony. Ouch! This looks like it had to hurt.
Well, that's all I have for today. I hope your week got off to a good start, and thanks so much for your visit!
Denise
I heard our hog, Punky Phil saw his shadow... I'm not looking forward to six more weeks of winter! Here's hoping they're mild ones for everyone:@)
ReplyDeleteLove the new banner! February just sort of slips by practically unnoticed except for Valentine's Day. Even President's day gets little attention. I had forgotten about the full moon. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteLots of new to me information here, Denise. That's interesting about the moon. We have 2 family birthdays in February and a dear friend of mine has a birthday on Valentine's Day. My sister was born on February 29th so it's always a special birthday for her during leap years. Her kids gave her a sweet 16 party on her 64th birthday! I missed all the Ground Hog Day footage. Ouch! The image you shared is really beautiful...
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