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Carpe diem! (Seize the day!)

Pip Wilson

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Today is

This plain Man's Story is a memorable Example that he is happiest who confines his Wants to natural Necessities; and he that goes further in his Desires increases his Wants in proportion to his Acquisitions; or to use his own Expression, I am now worth eight hundred Pounds, but shall never be so happy as when I was not worth a Farthing.
Sir Richard Steele; ibid

I am lustration, and the sea is mine!
I wash the sands and headlands with my tide;
My brow is crowned with branches of the pine;
Before my chariot-wheels the fishes glide.
By me all things unclean are purified,
By me the souls of men washed white again;
E'en the unlovely tombs of those who died
Without a dirge, I cleanse from every stain.
HW Longfellow (1807 - '82); The Poet's Calendar for February

In ancient times, purgations had the name
Of Februa, various customs prove the same;
The pontiffs from the rex and flamen crave
A lock of wool; in former days they gave
To wool the name of Februa.
A pliant branch cut from a lofty pine,
Which round the temples of the priests they twine,
Is Februa called; which if the priest demand,
A branch of pine is put into his hand:
In short, with whatsoe'er our hearts we hold
Are purified, was Februa termed of old;
Lustrations are from hence, from hence the name
Of this our month of February came;
In which the tombs were also purified
Of such as had no dirges when they died;
For our religious fathers did maintain,
Purgations expiated every stain
Of guilt and sin; from Greece the custom came,
But here adopted by another name ...
Ovid, Fasti, translated by Massey    Roman calendar

And lastly, came cold February, sitting
In an old wagon, for he could not ride;
Drawne of two fishes for the season fitting,
Which through the flood before did softly slyde
And swim away: yet had he by his side
His plough and harnesse fit to till the ground,
And tooles to prune the trees, before the pride
Of hasting Prime did make them burgein round:
So past the twelue Months forth, & their dew places found.
Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 - January 13, 1599), English poet; Faerie Queen, 'The Cantos of Mutabilitie'

He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a firelock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a Bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well as he could, but for the first eight months had to bear up against melancholy, and the terror of being left alone in such a desolate place. He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which he killed with his own gun as he wanted, so long as the powder lasted, which was but a pound; and that being almost spent he got fire by rubbing two sticks of pimento wood together upon his knee ...
   After he had conquered his melancholy, he diverted himself sometimes with cutting his name on trees, and of the time of his being left, and continuance there. He was at first much pestered with cats and rats that bred in great numbers from some of each species which had got ashore from ships that put in there for wood and water. The rats gnawed his feet and clothes whilst asleep, which obliged him to cherish the cats with his goats' flesh, by which so many of them became so tame, that they would lie about in hundreds, and soon delivered him from the rats. He likewise tamed some kids; to divert himself, would now and then sing and dance with them and his cats; so that by the favour of providence, and the vigour of his youth, being now but thirty years old, he came, at last, to conquer all the inconveniences of his solitude, and to be very easy.
   When his clothes were worn out he made himself a coat and a cap of goat skins, which he stitched together with little thongs of the same, that he cut with his knife. He had no other needle but a nail; and when his knife was worn to the back he made others, as well as he could, of some iron hoops that were left ashore, which he beat thin and ground upon stones. Having some linen cloth by him, he sewed him some shirts with a nail and, stitched them with the worsted of his old stockings, which he pulled out on purpose. He had his last shirt on when we found him on the island.
Captain Woodes Rogers on Alexander Selkirk; A Voyage Around the World, London, 1712

I am monarch of all I survey; 
My right there is none to dispute; 
From the centre all round to the sea 
I am lord of the fowl and the brute 
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face? 
Better dwell in the midst of alarms, 
Than reign in this horrible place. 
William Cowper (1731 - 1800), English poet; 'The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk'

Quickly, Demeter let the corn grow up from the fertile fields,
and the broad earth was weighed down with leaves and flowers.
But she, going to the law-giving kings,
showed to them – to Triptolemus and to Diocles, driver of horses,
to strong Eumolpus and to Keleus, leader of his people –
the rituals of her worship, and instituted secret rites for all of them.
Homeric Hymn to Demeter, tr. CA Sowa

This is the day of Bride [Bridget],
The Queen will come from the Mound.
This is the day of Bride,
The serpent will come from the hole.
Charles Kightly, The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore, Thames and Hudson, 1987 (Kightly has this for February 2)

Brigid went out in the early dawn,
And saw a horse with a shattered leg.
Bone to bone she knit, flesh to flesh,
Vein to vein she sewed, sinew back to sinew.
Brigid, by her woman's power, healed.
And by my woman's power, I can heal myself.
Traditional Irish Song   Source: Granny Moon's Morning Feast

Ni bu Sanct Brigid suanach
Ni bu huarach im sheire Dé,
Sech ni chiuir ni cossens
Ind nóeb dibad bethath che.

(Saint Brigid was not given to sleep,
Nor was she intermittent about God's love;
Not merely that she did not buy, she did not seek for
The wealth of this world below, the holy one.)
St Broccan Cloen

Errach or Spring began on the first of February. This day was called oimelc, imolg, or imbulc: The first form oimele is given in Cormac's Glossary (p. 127, 'oi'), where it is derived from oi, a sheep, and melc or melg, milk: 'oi-melg' 'ewe-milk', "for that is the time the sheep's milk comes." That oimelc is the first of February we know from Peter O'Connell's Dictionary, where oimelc is identified with Fed Brighde (St. Brigit's feast day), which has been, and is still, the Irish name for the first of February all through Ireland.
Joyce, Social History of Ireland, Vol. II, p. 388

Early on Bride's morn 
The serpent shall come from the hole, 
I will not molest the serpent, 
Nor will the serpent molest me. 
Alexander Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, Lindisfarne Press, p. 583

Gach 're la go mait
O'm la-sa amach
agus leath mo lae feinigh.
[Every second day fine,
from my day onward,
and half of my own day.]
St Brigid's promise

The protection of God and Colmkille encompass your going and coming, and about you be the milkmaid of the smooth white palms, Brigid of the clustering, golden brown hair.
A blessing over cattle in the Scottish isles

Down with the rosemary, and so 
Down with the bays and misletoe; 
Down with the holly, ivy, all 
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas hall; 
That so the superstitious find 
No one least branch there left behind; 
For look, how many leaves there be 
Neglected there, maids, trust to me, 
So many goblins you shall see. 
Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), English poet; 'Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve', from Christmas Poems of Herrick

Down with the rosemary and bays, 
Down with the misletoe; 
Instead of holly, now up-raise 
The greener box, for show. 

The holly hitherto did sway; 
Let box now domineer, 
Until the dancing Easter-day, 
Or Easter's eve appear. 

Then youthful box, which now hath grace 
Your houses to renew, 
Grown old, surrender must his place 
Unto the crisped yew. 

When yew is out, then birch comes in, 
And many flowers beside, 
Both of a fresh and fragrant kin, 
To honour Whitsuntide. 

Green rushes then, and sweetest bents, 
With cooler oaken boughs, 
Come in for comely ornaments, 
To re-adorn the house. 
Thus times do shift; each thing his turn does hold; 
New things succeed, as former things grow old. 
Robert Herrick; ibid

If Imbolc is dry and fair
half of winter's yet to come, 
If Imbolc is wet and fowl,
half the winter's gone at Yule.
Traditional British weather prognostication

Tasting every food in order
This is what behoves at Imbolc
Washing of hand and feet and head
It is thus I say.
Medieval verse

When the wind blows on Candlemas-eve, it will continue till May-eve.
English traditional proverb

Of the young year's disclosing days this one day –
The first of February and a Sunday –
I clasp in mind, and set down for a safe keeping ... 
Sylvia Townsend Warner; 'Of the young year's disclosing days'

Russian hearts dwelt more in Russia than in the country they were enriching by their labour, which nevertheless scorned them as "foreigners." All through the years we had been close to the pulse of Russia, close to her spirit and her superhuman struggle for liberation. But our lives were rooted in our adopted land. We had learned to love her physical grandeur and her beauty and to admire the men and women who were fighting for freedom, the Americans of the best calibre. I felt myself one of them, an American in the truest sense, spiritually rather than by the grace of a mere scrap of paper.
Emma Goldman who, with Alexander Berkman, settled in Petrograd, Russia in February, 1920   Source

There's no secret about direction, just good common sense.
John Ford, American film director, born on February 1, 1897

February 1 is the 32^nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 333 days remaining (334 in leap years).
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February birthstone: Amethyst, signifying sincerity, sobriety and healing; onyx.

If February-born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If she the Amethyst will wear.
Traditional birthstone rhyme

February background

January and February were introduced into the Roman calendar by the emperor Numa Pompilius. Februare = 'purification'; this was the month of expiation and purification for Romans. Numa arranged for it to have 29 days except in leap years when it had, by the intercalation of a day between the 23^rd and 24^th, thirty.

When Augustus Caesar added a 31^st day to the month named after him, so that it would not lack the dignity of having the full complement of days, he took a day from February, which could least spare it. 

Now we drop a day from each century except those of which the ordinal number can be divided by four – again we take it from February. So there was no February 29 in 1800, 1900 and will be like this again in 2100, 2200, and so on.

In ancient Rome, the month of February was sacred to Juno Februata. Her feast day fell on February 15, and on this day, eligible young women wrote their names on slips of paper and put them in a large bowl. Each single man drew one billet. The woman whose name was on the billet he drew was his partner for the day's erotic festivities. These partnerships often resulted in marriage. In 494, Pope Gelasius I renamed Juno Februata's feast day and later the date was changed to February 2. It is now known as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, or Candlemas.

The Saxon name for this month was Sprout-kale, 'sprouting of cabbage'. Afterwards it was called Sol-monatt, 'return of sun'.

February is represented in art by a man in a sky-coloured dress, bearing in his hand the sign of Pisces.

February

From Wikipedia: February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 28 days in regular years. In leap years February has 29 days. Three times in history a February 30 did occur.

January and February were the last two months to be added to the calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. February was named for the Roman god Februus, the god of purification. He was also worshipped by the Etruscans, where he might have become Febris, goddess of malaria and fever, whose name is associated with the English word 'fever'. Febris had three temples in ancient Rome, of which one was located between the Palatine and Velabrum.

Trivia

• In February the Sun passes through zodiac constellations Capricornus and Aquarius.
• In common years February begins on the same day of the week as March and November.
• In leap years February begins on the same day of the week as August.
• The signs of the zodiac within the month of February are Aquarius and Pisces.

Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days    February poems and folklore

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, ancient Greece (Feb 1 - 3) 

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Yaya Matsuri (Ya Ya Matsuri; Shouting Festival), Owase, Mie Prefecture, Japan (Feb 1 - 8)   Today begin the Yaya or Shouting Festival days at Owase Shrine, Owase, Japan. This unusual calendar custom is a 'Shouting Festival', one of several 'quarrel festivals'.   Young men carrying mikoshi floats crash into each other on the streets, shouting "Yaya! Yaya!", jostling each other before diving into the sea to purify themselves. People whose houses border the routes of such craziness erect protective fences. There is much dancing, and the next year's participants are elected at the shrine on the Yaya festival's final night. The festival also offers archery events and street dancing.   Videos at Google Video and YouTube   Festival of the Lênaia to Dionysus, god of wine and pleasure, ancient Greece  (c. Jan 28 – Feb 5) Festival of Juno Sospita In ancient Rome, consuls made a sacrifice to Juno Sospita (the Saviour) on this day. Girls offered barley-cakes to the sacred snake in her grove. If their offerings were accepted, their virginity was confirmed and the year's fertility assured. Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press, 1999   Source Kalends of February, ancient Rome Feast day of St Agrepe Feast day of St Anthony Manzoni Feast day of St Asclepiades Feast day of St Autbert of Landevenec Feast day of St Brigid (Italy) The 9th-Century sister of St Andrew the Scot (Andrew of Fiesole), this Brigid was a hermitess in the Apennines mountains of Italy. Legend says that when her brother was dying, angels carried her to his deathbed. Feast day of St Cecilius of Granada Feast day of St Cinnia of Ulster Feast day of St Crewenna Feast day of St Darlaugdach of Kildare Feast day of St Henry Morse Feast day of St Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, martyr (Lesser water moss, Fontinalis minor, is also today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) An immediate disciple and successor of the Apostles, this Bishop of Antioch had a reputation for piety. Under Roman Emperor Trajan, Ignatius was sent to Rome and was devoured by wild beasts, which fate he accepted with resignation and joy. What was left of the feeble old man was carefully returned to Antioch, where his relics were preserved. Feast day of St Jarlath Feast day of St John of the Grating Feast day of St Kinnia, virgin of Ireland Feast of  Our Lady of the Purification, Santo Amaro, Brazil (Feb 1 - 4) In this religious celebration, 60 baianas in traditional costume perform the famous washing of the church front stairs. Feast day of St Paul of Trois-Châteaux Feast day of St Pionius, priest and martyr Feast day of St Sabinus Feast day of St Severus of Avranches  Feast Day of St Tryphon (Greek Orthodox Church), patron saint of gardeners St Tryphon, whose Roman Catholic feast day was November 10 (qv), is known as a protector of vines and fields and a killer of rats and caterpillars. In about 250, during the Decian persecution, he was taken to Nicaea and following crucifixion and other tortures was murdered and decapitated, after he had converted the heathen prefect Licius. On his day, vineyards and fields are sprinkled with holy water and blessed. Working in the fields is not allowed, and it is said that one man who disobeyed this injunction and went out to work cut his own nose off.  St Tryphon's emblem is the pruning knife. Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press, 1999   Source More Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Candlemas eve, old England – Christmas decorations come down Husband-divining ritual, Faro Islands Faroese girls on Candlemas eve leave a mixture of egg-white in a glass of water on their window sills overnight; the shapes formed are auguries of their future husbands. Source: Venetia Newell, An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1971 Gutor (Expulsion of the Old Year), Tibet Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar Kurokawa Noh, Kasuga Shrine, Kushibiki, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (Feb 1 - 2) "Ceremonial parades and seven sacred noh plays mark the beginning of the new year, traditionally celebrated a month later in this area."   Source Iroquois Midwinter Festival (Jan 30 - Feb 8) Shiwasu Matsuri, Mikado Jinja, Nango, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan (Jan 20 - Feb 20) Sounkyo Ice Festival, Sounkyo Onsen (spa), Hokkaido, Japan (Jan 29 - Mar 5)   Eid-ul-Adh, Islam Eid-ul-Adha or 'the feast of the sacrifice', commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's unselfish act of sacrificing his son Ishmael to God. This important holiday is celebrated at the end of Hajj, which is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Free e-cards     Black History Month commences, United States of America From Wikipedia: Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in the month of February. Black History Month originated as 'Negro History Week', the second week in February. This celebration of black history in America was started by African-American historian Dr Carter G Woodson, who wanted to bring national attention to the large contribution of African-Americans to the history of their country, in 1926. Woodson chose February as black history month because in this month Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Langston Hughes were born. Some have speculated whether February's status as the shortest and coldest month of the year was a factor in Woodson's choice. History books had barely started covering black history when the tradition of Black History Month was started. At that point, most representation of blacks in history books was only in reference to the low social position they held. Dr Woodson hoped that the week would eventually be eliminated, when African-American history would be fully integrated with American history. In the United Kingdom, Black History Month is celebrated in the month of October. The official guide to black history month is published by Sugar Media, Ltd., which produces 100,000 copies nationwide. Criticism Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one race. Critical op-ed pieces have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer and USA Today. Many black radical/nationalist groups, including the Nation of Islam, have criticized Black History Month. In the December 18, 2005 episode of 60 Minutes, actor Morgan Freeman criticized Black History Month. "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." Freeman believes that racism will persist as long as individuals continue to identify themselves by their race. Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month commences, United Kingdom "The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index report, released each fall, provides an in-depth analysis and rating of large U.S. employers and their policies and practices pertinent to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors." Includes evaluation of issues such as diversity training, domestic partner benefits, and respectful advertising. Includes reports back to 2002. From the Human Rights Campaign.   Source         1859 Victor Herbert (d. 1924), Irish-born American composer 1894 John Ford, American film director (Stagecoach; How the West was Won) 1896 Anastasio Somoza García, President of Nicaragua from 1937 till his assassination in 1957, who began a dynasty of dictatorship in Nicaragua lasting 47 years 1901 Clark Gable (d. 1960), American actor (Gone With the Wind) 1902 Langston Hughes (d. May 22, 1967), African American poet, novelist, playwright 'I, too, sing America' I, too, sing America.   I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.   Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.   Besides,  They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed – I, too, am America. Langston Hughes     1904 SJ Perelman (d. October 17, 1979), American humorist, author (Monkey Business), and screenwriter primarily known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker magazine 1918 Dame Muriel Spark, Scottish author 1926 Stuart Whitman, American actor (Those Magnificant Men in Their Flying Machines; Oscar: The Mark) 1931 Boris Yeltsin, Russian president 1991 -'99 1936 Alex Tahmindjis, MB BS (University of Sydney), Australian physician. Dr Tahmindjis was awarded a Master of Psychological Medicine from the University of NSW and a Diploma in Criminology from the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of the United Kingdom, and Fellow of the Australian College of Psychological Medicine (which he founded). He has served as President of the Amateur Athletic Association of New South Wales, President of the Sydney University Sports Union and the Sydney University Athletics Club, and President of the Sydney University Blues Association. 1942 Terry Jones, actor, writer (Monty Python's Flying Circus) 1947 Normie Rowe, Australian pop singer ('Oo La La'; 'It Ain't Necessarily So') 1956 Elsa the Lioness, depicted in the book, Born Free by Joy Adamson (and as featured in the 1966 movie, Born Free) Joy Adamson Elsa the Lioness was celebrated in Born Free, by Joy Adamson, who was a late starter or 'late bloomer', writing this, her first book at the age of 50. Adamson's writing, and the film that followed the book's success, was highly influential in promoting awareness of Nature, and helped give rise to eco-tourism. Tragically, and incredibly, Joy Adamson and her husband were both murdered, in separate incidents nearly a decade apart. Joy was killed by a disgruntled employee on January 3, 1980 in the Shaba Game Reserve, and George Adamson was killed by poachers on August 20, 1989, inside Kora National Park, Kenya. Elsa succumbed to illness on January 24, 1961. Are you, like Joy Adamson, a late bloomer?   1965 Brandon Lee (d. 1993), actor 1965 Princess Stephanie of Monaco 1968 Lisa Marie Presley, American actress   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send free e-cards to friends & family for celebrations & any topic Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Candlemas / Imbolc Birthdays Valentine's Day [ Feb 14 ]   Imbolc [ Feb 1 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Jewish e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Chinese New Year Varies Vasant Panchami Varies Tu B'Shvat Varies Diabetes Sunday January 29 Bubblegum Sculpture Day 29 Kansas Day 29 Freethinkers' Day 29 Oyster Festival (South Carolina, USA) 30 Jazz Day 31 Backwards Day 31 Hell Is Freezing Over Day February 1 Freedom Day 1 Inspire Your Employees To Excellence Day 2 Groundhog Day 2 No Talk Day 2 Imbolc 2 Candlemas 3 Carrot Cake Day 3 Artist Day 3 Wedding Ring Day 4 Homemade Soup Day 4 Halfway Point Of Winter 4 Thank A Mailperson Day 4 Bald Eagle Day (Utah) 5 Super Sunday 5 Primrose Day 5 Chocolate Fondue Day 6 Reggae Day 7 Send A Card To A Friend Day 8 Smile Day 8 Laugh And Grow Rich Day 8 Boy Scout Day 8 Rebel Day 9 Weather Day 9 Toothache Day 9 Pizza Pie Day 10 Umbrella Day 11 Make A New Friend Day 11 Thomas Edison Day 11 Grandmother Achievement Day 12 Chocolate Day 12 Lantern Festival 13 I Value Our Friendship Day 13 Dream Of Your Sweetheart Day 13 Clean Out Your Computer Day 14 Valentine's Day 14 Hug Day 14 Heart To Heart Day 14 Have A Heart Day 15 Thanks For A Great Valentine's Day 15 Burger Lovers' Day 15 Flag Day (Canada) ... More Events Visit the Blogmanac, where today's Almanac is 'live' And I hope you will sign my GuestMap Your family and friends will get a kick when they hear their own name being sung in 'Happy Birthday'!! You can schedule your singing cards in advance, and even add your own face to funny animations. (Pay cards)         If you are enjoying this page, click to receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine Webmaster, webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on application. Further details   1468 BCE "This was said to be the day, in 1468 BC, when Pharaoh Tuthmoses III of the 18th Dynasty seized control of Egypt, upon the death, likely murder, of Hatsheput. Hatsheput, the first female king, had ruled peacefully for seventeen years. She had initiated a culture of peace, building temples and sponsoring the arts. In a vindictive fury, Tuthmoses II tore down her statues and chased her supporters into hiding. A subsequent rebellion against Tuthmoses III led to militarization of the country and the foundation of empire. Ten days later he set out for Armageddon."   Source   1524 London, England: The city was prophesied to drown under the River Thames on this day.  As early as June 1523, several London fortune tellers and astrologers concurred in predicting that, on this day, the waters of the Thames would swell to such a height as to overflow the whole city of London, and wash away ten thousand houses. The prophecy met implicit belief and was reiterated with great confidence month after month, until so much alarm was excited that many families of all classes packed up their goods, and moved to Kent and Essex on foot or by wagon.  By the middle of January, at least twenty thousand persons had left the doomed city. Many of the richer people made their 'escape' to the heights of Highgate, Hampstead, and Blackheath; and some erected tents as far away as Waltham Abbey, on the north, and Croydon, on the south of the Thames. Rev. Bolton, the prior of St Bartholomew's, was so alarmed that he erected, at very great expense, a sort of fortress at Harrow-on-the-Hill, which he stocked with provisions for two months. "At last the morn, big with the fate of London, appeared in the east. The wondering crowds were astir at an early hour to watch the rising of the waters. The inundation, it was predicted, would be gradual, not sudden; so that they expected to have plenty of time to escape, as soon as they saw the bosom of old Thames heave beyond the usual mark. But the majority were too much alarmed to trust to this, and thought themselves safer ten or twenty miles off. The Thames, unmindful of the foolish crowds upon its banks, flowed on quietly as of yore. The tide ebbed at its usual hour, flowed to its usual height, and then ebbed again, just as if twenty astrologers had not pledged their words to the contrary. Blank were their faces as evening approached, and as blank grew the faces of the citizens to think that they had made such fools of themselves. At last night set in, and the obstinate river would not lift its waters to sweep away even one house out of the ten thousand. Still, however, the people were afraid to go to sleep. Many hundreds remained up till dawn of the next day, lest the deluge should come upon them like a thief in the night. On the morrow, it was seriously discussed whether it would not be advisable to duck the false prophets in the river. Luckily for them, they thought of an expedient which allayed the popular fury. They asserted that, by an error (a very slight one) of a little figure, they had fixed the date of this awful inundation a whole century too early. The stars were right after all, and they, erring mortals, were wrong. The present generation of cockneys was safe, and London 'would be washed away, not in 1524, but in 1624'. At this announcement, Bolton, the prior, dismantled his fortress, and the weary emigrants came back."   Source 1790 In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States convened for the first time. 1793 France declared war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.   1709 Real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk (or Selcraig) (1676 - 1721), the model for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, was rescued by the ship Duke, after four years on a deserted island four hundred miles west of Valparaiso, Chile, by Captain Woodes Rogers and William Dampier (1651 - 1715), the explorer, sea captain, scientific observer, author and early explorer of Australia. After his rescue, Selkirk became a crew member in the Rogers/Dampier pirate raids on the coast of South America, preying on Spanish merchant ships, for another two years and did not see the coast of England again until September 22, 1711. The son of a shoemaker and tanner in Largo, Fife, Selkirk was born in 1676. In his youth he displayed a quarrelsome and unruly disposition, and having been summoned on August 27, 1695 before the kirk-session for his indecent behaviour in church, "did not compear, having gone away to the seas". At an early period he was engaged in buccaneer expeditions to the South Seas, and in 1703 joined the galley Cinque Ports as sailing master. The following year he had a dispute with the captain, and at his own request was in October put ashore on the archipelago of Juan Fernandez off the Chilean coast. His skipper had gladly obliged, happy to be rid of his trouble-making Scot. "Selkirk took ashore with him a musket, bullets, gun powder, a few carpenter tools, some extra clothing and bedding, tobacco, a hatchet and most importantly as it turned out later, a Bible. He found a cave near the beach to live in but during the first months he was so terrified by his isolation and loneliness that he rarely left the beach, living on shell fish. For days Selkirk sat on the beach looking to the horizon hoping to see a ship to rescue him. He even contemplated suicide more than once."   Source The story of his solitary sojourn on Más a Tierra Island (now Isla Róbinson Crusoe) was told in a number of versions by early 18th-Century writers such as the British essayist Sir Richard Steele. One of the islands of Juan Fernandez has, in tribute, since been named Alejandro Selkirk. Selkirk, after a troubled marriage in England, went to sea again and died at sea on December 12, 1721 at the age of 45. William Dampier died a pauper in London in 1715. According to Diana Preston and Michael Preston, A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier, among the many words William Dampier introduced into the English language are: avocado; barbecue; breadfruit; caress (verb); cashew; chopsticks; excursion (trip); kumquat; Norwester (wind); posse (iguana); rambling; sea-breeze; sea-lion; serrated; settlement; soysauce; tortilla … read on Source: Wikipedia et al (Sources vary as to the dates of Selkirk's rescue and death.) 1814 In its most devastating eruption ever, Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupted, killing around 1,200 people. 1814 Lord Byron's 'The Corsair', a  semi-autobiographical pirate tale in heroic couplets, sold 10,000 copies on the day of publication. 1814 With the River Thames frozen, Londoners celebrated their last Frost Fair, which lasted for four days. An elephant was led across the river below Blackfriars Bridge. Frost Fairs were also held in 1564, 1608, 1634, 1715, 1739, 1763 and 1789. Painting: The Frost Fair of 1814, by Luke Clenell Search other frost fairs in the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days Frost Fair of 1739-40    More 1824 Death of John Lemprière (John Lempriere; b. c. 1765), English classical scholar (Bibliotheca Classica, or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors), lexicographer, theologian and teacher 1858 William Dean made the first balloon ascent in Australia. 1860 USA: A decree issued by Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, ordered representatives of the different states to assemble at Platt's Music Hall in San Francisco to change laws to ameliorate the evils under which the country was labouring. 1861 American Civil War: Texas seceded from the United States. 1862 USA: Peace activist Julia Ward Howe's 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' was published for the first time (Atlantic Monthly). 1879 A small black cloud on a clear day appeared in the east travelling not very swiftly towards the northwest, which burst into a ball of fire with an apparent disc the size of the full moon, blood-red in colour; It left a train of black or dark-coloured vapour across the heavens which was visible for three-quarters of a hour. No sound was heard, sky perfectly clear, and the thermometer, 100F, in the shade. In 1879, science journal 'Nature' published this account of the February 1, 1879, apparition. Mr S Worsley Clifton, Collector of Customs, at Fremantle, Western Australia, had forwarded an account of a "remarkable meteor", to RJ Elleig, of the Melbourne Observatory. Elleig in turn passed it onto 'Nature'. Source More on Australian UFOs, Tully and Aboriginal experiences, at the Book of Days   1884 The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. 1893 Thomas Edison finished construction of the first motion picture studio (West Orange, New Jersey). 1896 Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème premiered (Turin, Italy). 1902 An imperial decree in China abolished the practice of the binding of the feet of female infants, a practice designed to make women's feet small, considered desirable in China at the time. 1903 Australia: The Perth to Coolgardie water line, designed by Charles O'Connor, was opened. 1908 Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon, Portugal: King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luís Filipe, were killed by soldiers after a failed revolution. 1913 New York City's Grand Central Station opened as the world's largest railway station. 1918 Russia adopted the Gregorian Calendar. 1920 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police began operations. 1920 Russia: During this month Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman settled in Petrograd where they renewed their friendships with William Shatoff, now working as Commissar of Railroads, and John Reed. They also met with Grigory Zinoviev, director of the Soviet Executive Committee, and briefly with Maxim Gorky at his home in Petrograd. They attended a conference of anarchists, including Baltic factory workers and Kronstadt sailors, who echoed criticisms of the Bolsheviks voiced by Left Social Revolutionaries and others who had paid visits to Goldman and Berkman in this period. Source: The Daily Bleed    Early progressives in the Book of Days 1922 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Indian leader and proponent of civil disobedience, gave notice to the Viceroy of his intention to launch Satyagraha campaign at Bardoli (Gujarat). 1923 Seventy per cent of Tokyo, Japan and almost all of Yokohama were destroyed by fire following an earthquake, taking as many as 140,000 lives. 1923 Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes and his Nationalist Government resigned. 1924 Britain's first Labour Government recognized the Soviet Union. 1943 World War II: Vidkun Quisling was appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers. 1946 Trygve Lie of Norway was chosen as the first United Nations Secretary General. 1952 During this month American author Jack Kerouac (1922 - 969) had first psychedelic experience when the anarchist/surrealist Philip Lamantia gave him peyote (Lamantia, a surrealist blood poet, was a member of the San Francisco Anarchist Circle with Kenneth Rexroth, et al.) Wilson's Almanac Book of Days hip list 1953 Twentieth Century-Fox announced plans to go into Cinemascope, a form of large-screen projection. 1955 In New South Wales, Australia, the hotels were from this day allowed to close at 10 pm instead of 6 pm, ending the notorious 'six o'clock swill', at which time the publican would often call "Time, please gentlemen. If you can't drink it, leave it; if you can't leave it, drink it". This phenomenon of Australian life, made possible by the support of groups such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, had drawn heavy criticism for the tendency of citizens to drink quickly and heavily and return home drunk at dinner time. As most workers didn't 'knock off' until 5 pm and arrived in the pubs with empty stomachs around 5:30, the stampede for beers was intense and the propensity towards inebriation will be readily understood. This was compounded by the Australian tradition of the 'shout', in which patrons take turns to 'shout' or buy drinks for their table. A party of five, for example, would feel obliged to have five shouts in the available 30 minutes. "It was a dire time before then with the beer guzzling frenzy being watched by bemused visitors and with drinkers being too scared to move from the bar for fear of losing their place."   Source In 1916, a soldiers' riot at Liverpool (NSW) army camp had caused the Federal Government to direct hotels in NSW, Victoria and Adelaide to cease selling alcohol after 6 pm. Although the restriction was scheduled to be lifted after World War I, it remained in place in Victoria until 1965 and in Adelaide until 1967. It is hard to know if we have moved ahead. Closing hours have been progressively extended since 1955, with the familiar "Time, please ladies and gentlemen" being called in the early morning, leading to what we may term 'the three o'clock gutter'. 1958 Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961. 1960 America's first sit-in against segregated lunch counters was held. 1968 Vietnam War: A Viet Cong officer was summarily executed by Nguyen Ngoc Loan, a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed and helped sway public opinion against the war. 1978 Director Roman Polanski jumped bail and fled to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl. 1979 Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst, heiress to the Hearst family newspaper fortune, was released from prison after serving nearly two years for armed robbery, after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter. 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini was welcomed back into Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile. 1979 Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols took his own life with an overdose of heroin. "After Nancy's death, Beverley flew to Manhattan to be with her son who, despite a stint in rehab, was still nursing his drug habit. On Feb. 1, 1979, fearful that he would be arrested in a drug buy on the street, she bought a supply of heroin for him, and was with him in the Greenwich Village apartment of a friend that night while he injected it. Afterward, 'I swear to God he appeared to have a pink aura around his whole body,' she remembers. The next morning, when she brought him a cup of tea, 'he was lying there quite peacefully. I shook him until I realized he was very cold and very dead.' "Late one night, a few days later, Beverley climbed the wall to a cemetery outside Philadelphia and, against the wishes of the Spungen family, scattered her son's ashes in the snow over Nancy's grave. Although authorities never officially determined whether Sid's death was by accident or design, Anne Beverley has little doubt. As evidence, she offers the worn piece of paper on which Sid scrawled a poem, simply titled 'Nancy,' to his departed love: 'You were my little baby girl/And I knew all your fears/Such joy to hold you in my arms/And kiss away your tears/But now you're gone/There's only pain/And nothing I can do/And I don't want to live this life/If I can't live for you.'"   Source   1980 Seven thousand marched to protest the Ku Klux Klan in Greensboro, NC, USA. 1981 Norway elected its first female prime minister, Gro Harlem Bruntland. 1985 In Manila, the trial began of 26 alleged conspirators in the murder of Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, who died as he arrived in the Philippines on his return from exile. 1989 Omiuri, a 7.6 m python in Kenya died. Omiuri was believed to have magical powers, and millions of Kenyan Luo tribespeople mourned its loss. 1990 South African President FW de Klerk told Parliament that apartheid would have to go, and he banned many of the hated law's cornerstones. He also announced the end of the ban on the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party, and that Nelson Mandela would be free within a fortnight. 1992 The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declared Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case, and ordered the government to press for his extradition from United States. 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas upon re-entry, killing all seven astronauts onboard. 2003 Chinese New Year: Year of the Ram.   2004 When celebrations go wrong: At least 244 people were killed in a stampede during the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, after two million pilgrims flocked to Jamarat Bridge in Mena to throw stones at pillars representing the devil. The Hajj or Haj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah) and is the fifth of the "Five Pillars of Islam". Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so is obligated to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. The government of Saudi Arabia issues special visas to foreigners for the purpose of the pilgrimage, which takes place during the Islamic month of Dhu Al-Hijjah. However, entrance to the city itself is forbidden to non-Muslims, as the entire city is considered a site holy to Islam. Upon arrival in Mecca, the pilgrim (Hajji) performs a series of ritual acts symbolic of the life of the prophet Muhammad, and of solidarity with Muslims worldwide. These include circling the Kaaba seven times, spending a night in the city of Medina, and casting a stone at a particular rock formation to symbolize refutation of the devil. Wikipedia   2008 Sweden plans to cease analog television broadcasts. 2019 Predicted date of possible collision of 2002 NT7 with Earth.   Tomorrow: Origins of Groundhog Day    Main calendar | Yesterday | Tomorrow | Search     Click to join Wikipedia and David Brown's prodigious Daily Bleed are both excellent resources that aid my research. I frequently make use of their generously liberal 'fair use', 'copyleft' and 'anti-copyright' policies, with much gratitude. © My own copyright policy is also liberal, but as this is my livelihood, conditions apply. Read more about today at Wilson's Blogmanac

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