Freedom Day – February 1
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.”
– Thomas Jefferson
Groundhog Day – February 2
“To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.”
– W. J. Vogel
“This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.”
– Phil Connors
Thank a Mail Carrier Day – February 4
“Postal employees regularly go above and beyond to protect the lives of the people they serve, including elderly or disabled customers, through the Carrier Alert Program. In 2024, the Postal Service recognized 109 heroic employees through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program.
“The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country. The Postal Service is the heart of the $1.9 trillion United States mailing industry, which employs more than 7.9 million people.”
– usps.com
Weatherman’s Day – Feb. 5
“Weathermen merely forecast rain to keep everyone else off the golf course.”
– Larry David
“Weather forecast for tonight: dark.”
– George Carlin
Hershey’s Chocolate founded – February 9
“Put ‘eat chocolate’ on the top of your list of things to do today. That way, you’ll get at least one thing done.”
– Unknown
“After about 20 years of marriage, I’m finally starting to scratch the surface of that one [what women want]. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate.”
– Mel Gibson
Valentine’s Day – February 14
“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get–only with what you are expecting to give–which is everything.”
– Katharine Hepburn
“Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Presidents’ Day – February 16
“Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education.”
– George H.W. Bush
“You cannot extend the mastery of government over the daily life of a people without somewhere making it master of people’s souls and thoughts. Every step in that direction poisons the very roots of liberalism. It poisons political equality, free speech, free press, and equality of opportunity. It is the road not to more liberty but to less liberty.”
– Herbert Hoover
Random Acts of Kindness Day – February 17
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
– Unknown
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
– Booker T. Washington
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
– Princess Diana
Quiet Day – February 25
“Let silence be the art you practice.”
– Rumi
“Silence is a source of great strength.”
– Lao Tzu
American History Month
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
– Chief Seattle
“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner . . . and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.
– W. E. B. DuBois
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
– Ronald Reagan
Black History Month
“I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.”
– Rosa Parks
“Won’t it be wonderful when Black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.”
– Maya Angelou
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela