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Black History Month is the successor to Negro History Week which was initiated on February 12, 1926 by Carter G.Woodson, a pre-eminent historian and founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Woodson was concerned that the contributions of Black Americans were overlooked or misrepresented and he began lobbying for Negro History Week as early as 1915. He selected February because it included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14) whom he believed had dramatically impacted the lives of Black Americans.

In 1976, Woodson's legacy, now renamed the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, successfully lobbied to extend Black History Week into a month-long observance. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

2 Groundhog Day is based on the festival known as Candlemas. This celebration represents the end of the Christmas cycle (forty days after Christmas) and marks the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Formerly, Candlemas honored the Purification of Mary after the birth of Christ. In Europe, Candlemas was combined with ancient pagan candlelighting ceremonies intended to rejuvenate the fields before planting crops.

This custom was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Dutch (German settlers) who believed that all hibernating animals come out to check on the weather. If the animal saw its shadow, then six weeks of bad weather would follow and the animal could go back to sleep. However, a cloudy day meant that spring was coming soon and the weather until then would be moderate. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

12 Lincoln's Birthday. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Lincoln entered office at a critical period in U. S. history, just before the Civil War, and died from an assassin's bullet at the war's end, but before the greater implications of the conflict could be resolved. He brought to the office personal integrity, intelligence, and humanity, plus the wholesome characteristics of his frontier upbringing. He also had the liabilities of his upbringing--he was self-educated, culturally unsophisticated, and lacking in administrative and diplomatic skills.

Sharp-witted, he was not especially sharp-tongued, but was noted for his warm good humor. Although relatively unknown and inexperienced politically when elected president, he proved to be a consummate politician. He was above all firm in his convictions and dedicated to the preservation of the Union.

Lincoln was perhaps the most esteemed and maligned of the American presidents. Generally admired and loved by the public, he was attacked on a partisan basis as the man responsible for and in the middle of every major issue facing the nation during his administration. Although his eputation has fluctuated with changing times, he was clearly a great man and a great president. He firmly and fairly guided the nation through its most perilous period and made a lasting impact in shaping the office of chief executive.

Once regarded as the "Great Emancipator" for his forward strides in freeing the slaves, he was criticized a century later, when the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, for his caution in moving toward equal rights. If he is judged in the historical context, however, it can be seen that he was far in advance of most liberal opinion. His claim to greatness endures. (from the Encyclopedia Americana online.)
Chabot College is please to host its second annual “California Cash for College” event on Saturday, February 12, 2005, from 9am to 1pm in the Chabot College Cafeteria.
This Financial Aid Festival will provide a wealth of financial aid information and help students and families complete the 2005-06 FAFSA, the base application for all Federal and State financial aid. We want to encourage everyone to meet the state application deadline of March 2, 2005 for the Fall 2005 semester. Experienced Financial Aid staff and volunteers will help students and their families better understand the complicated world of financial aid, and help them complete financial aid applications accurately and on time for the upcoming Fall semester. Multilingual staff and volunteers will offer assistance in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi and Punjabi, with written instructions also available in Armenian, Russian and Korean. Computer access will allow families to electronically submit their applications on-line to the Department of Education that very day. Through the generous support of community partners, there will be refreshments and door prizes, including at least two $500 scholarships, for student participants. Our assistance is completely free, and we are committed to helping any student or family who might need assistance, regardless of where the student plans to attend college. For more details and to sign-up online, please visit our website at http://www.chabotcollege.edu/finaid/festivalworkshop.asp or contact us at 510-723-7110.

13 Birthday of Grant Wood, painter (biography) 14 Valentine's Day. The origins of Valentine's Day are uncertain. Many experts believe that it originated with Lupercalia, a Roman celebration honoring the wolves Romulus and Remus. During this festival, young men struck women with a goatskin hide called a februa. Receiving the blows was thought to make women more fertile and to ease childbirth. At Lupercalia, the names of all the young women in the city were placed in a box. Young men drew a name from the box and the couple would be paired until the next Lupercalia. Lupercalia was replaced with Valentine's Day by Christians. Others trace Valentine's Day back to the rule of the Roman emperor Claudius II. In the 200's C. ., Claudius become frustrated when he had trouble recruiting soldiers into his army. Believing that the young men did not want to leave their wives and children, Claudius banned all marriages of single young men. However, a priest named Valentine disobeyed Claudius and performed secret marriages. Claudius found out about the marriages and sentenced Valentine to prison until his death on February 14, 270 C. E. Many historians believe the custom of sending poetic verse on this day originated with the capture of Charles, Duke of Orleans, during the Battle of Agincourt. From his prison cell in the Tower of London,
Charles sent his wife a rhyming love letter. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center) 15 Birthday of Galileo Galilei, scientist (biography) and Susan B. Anthony, suffragette. (biography) 16 The Lantern Festival occurs on the 15th day of the 1st month. The belief is that spirits can be seen flying about on the night of the first full moon of the year, so people go out with lanterns looking for them. Nowadays, children go out with lanterns in the evening and roam the streets. It is an important public holiday (known locally as Taeborum) in South Korea. (from the Worldwide Holidays & Festivals site) PTA Meeting at King Middle School. 1781 Rose Street. 7 p.m. In the library.17 Presidents Day. Ostensibly a day to honor all Presidents past and present, really an excuse for a four day weekend.PTA Council Meeting. Starts at 7 p.m. Place to be announced.
18 Birthday of Toni Morrison, writer and Nobel Prize winner (biography at about.com)19Day of Rememberance: Japanese-American Evacuation. California sets aside this day to emember the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. (for more information go to rice-rockets.com) Birthday of Copernicus, scientist (biography)
20 Birthday of Ansel Adams, photographer. (biography) 21 Birthday of Barbara Jordan, politician. (biography) and Andres Segovia, musician. (biography)

22 Washington's Birthday. George Washington (1732-1799), first PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. When Washington retired from public life in 1797, his homeland was vastly different from what it had been when he entered public service in 1749. To each of the principal changes he had made an outstanding contribution. Largely because of his leadership the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, a sovereign, independent nation. (from the Encyclopedia Americana online.) 23 Birthday of Georg Frederick Handel, composer (biography)
24 Birthday of Edward James Olmos, actor (biography)

26 Birthday of Levi Strauss, businessman (biography)
27 Birthday of John Steinbeck, author (biography)