14 February - Saint Valentine Day

 

Every year 14th February is celebrated as Valentine’s Day across the world. Valentine’s Day is mainly a western tradition, the day is now celebrated in a major way in India as well. This day is named after a Christian martyr Saint Valentine and is celebrated to commemorate the love between companions.

It is believed that this day was first incorporated by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. There were several martyrs named Valentine in the early years who were martyred for multiple reasons. However, none of them were associated with love. It was in the 14th century that martyr named Valentine was associated with love and it is believed that the tradition of Valentine’s Day started from that particular Valentine.

Some interesting facts related to Valentine’s Day

•   Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day in terms of sending cards. Christmas is the first.

•   Every Year Approximately 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged!

•   Do you know why Cupid is the symbol of valentine’s day? Cupid is the son of Venus. Venus is the Roman god of love and beauty.

•   Richard Cadbury invented the first Valentines Day candy box in the late 1800s.

•   In the year 1537, England’s King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday.

•   On average, men spend double the amount of money on Valentine`s Day gifts as compared to women. On average men spend $130.

•     The oldest known Valentine’s Day card is on display at London’s British Museum. The card dates back to the 1400s.

13 February - Sarojini Naidu birth anniversary

 

Sarojini Naidu: Sarojini Naida was born in a Bengali family in Hyderabdad on 13th February, 1879. She was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and also the first woman governor to become the governor of a state in India.

She was also a renowned poet and was famously known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India). Sarojini Naidu was a prominent figure during India’s Independence Movement and was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s Swaraj ideology.

Few notable and interesting facts related to Sarojini Naidu

•     At a tender age of 12, she wrote a play called “Maher Muneer”. Her work gained immense popularity and also impressed Nawab of Hyderabad. She gained worldwide popularity for her play.

•     Sarojini Naidu’s father wanted her to become a scientist or mathematician but she was more inclined towards poetry and writing

•     At a very young age, she wrote a poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’ which consists of 1300 lines.

•     Sarojini Naidu married Padipati Govindarajulu Naidu at the age of 19 in 1898.

•     She was awarded with Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for her work during the plague epidemic in India by the British government.
  

13 February - World Radio Day

 

World Radio Day is an international day celebrated on 13 February each year. The Day was decided by UNESCO on 3 November 2011 during its 36th conference.

World Radio Day was first proposed by Spain in September 2010. With backing from broadcasting associations around the world, it was unanimously accepted by the UNESCO Member States in November 2011. The cool thing about radio is it’s still relevant and important in our daily lives. During those long drives for vacation or maybe to work, the radio is still with us, keeping us singing and keeping us informed. It’s like a great friend and neighbor, one who’s always there and never lets you down —except radio will never borrow your weed whacker and forget to return it.

12 February - Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday

 

 

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the Union through the American Civil War to defend the nation as a constitutional union and succeeded in abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.

10 February - Kashi Vidyapith established

 

Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh. It got University status in 1974 as Deemed to be University and State University status in 2009 by The Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Act, 2008 (act no. 6 of 2009). The university has more than 400+ affiliated colleges spread over six districts. It is one of the largest state universities in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of professional and academic courses in arts, science, commerce, agriculture science, law, computing and management.

10 February - Teddy Day

 

Teddy Day is the fourth day of Valentine's Week. It falls on February 10. People gift their partner or crush a teddy bear on this day to express their love and fondness for them. Since Valentine's week is about celebrating the feeling of being in love with pomp and grandeur, gifting teddy bears also becomes a part of that gesture.

Teddy is special to humans as they are a part of one’s childhood, reminding us of the warmth and softness that once was a part of their life.

10 February - Ras Al Khaimah joined UAE in 1972

 

Ras Al Khaimah joins the United Arab Emirates, now making up seven emirates.

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ajman. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west and Al Nakheel in the east

The name Ras Al Khaimah means "the headland of the tent".It is reported that the city gained its named after a tent was erected there to facilitate navigation.

The last of the Trucial States to join the newly independent United Arab Emirates, on 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under the leadership of Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, joined the United Arab Emirates following the Iranian seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

10 February - Boris Leonidovich Pasternak born 10 February 1890

 

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak(10 February 1890 – 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, My Sister, Life, was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an important collection in the Russian language. Pasternak's translations of stage plays by Goethe, Schiller, Calderón de la Barca and Shakespeare remain very popular with Russian audiences.

Pasternak is the author of Doctor Zhivago (1957), a novel that takes place between the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the Second World War. Doctor Zhivago was rejected for publication in the USSR, but the manuscript was smuggled to Italy and was first published there in 1957.Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958, an event that enraged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which forced him to decline the prize. In 1989, Pasternak's son Yevgeny finally accepted the award on his father's behalf. Doctor Zhivago has been part of the main Russian school curriculum since 2003.

09 February - USA celebrates National Pizza Day

 

National Pizza Day is a day to celebrate pizza, which is a baked flatbread topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. Of course, many toppings and sauces can be added, ranging from meats to vegetables or seafood. Pizza was invented in Naples, Italy in the 10th century.

09 February - Chocolate Day

 

La Poste France has issued a miniature sheet commemorating 400 years of Chocolate's arrival in Europe in 1609, La Poste has created a block of chocolate-scented stamps.  

The block of 10 stamps (€0.56 each, for €5.60) is designed to look like a bar of chocolate and even smells like one. The stamps depict scenes from the history and manufacture of chocolate. 

The ink used on the stamps contains microcapsules which provide a chocolate scent that will reportedly last up to two years.

 Issue date 25 May 2009

Chocolate Dayis celebrated as to do away with the bitter and sour feelings in relationships. On this day, people exchange chocolates with their crushes or partners or relatives and pamper them by gifting them their favorite collection of chocolates or handmade candies.