The origin of the name February.

Good Morning friends

The name February comes either from the Old-Italian god Februus or else from Februa.

Februa is the Roman festival of purification, held on the 15^th of February.

This was an ancient  commemoration during which worshippers gathered at a grotto on the Palatine Hill in Rome called the Lupercal.

The sacrifice of goats and dogs to the Roman deities Lupercus and Faunus was part of the ceremony.

Luperci (priests of Lupercus) dressed in goatskins and, smeared with the sacrificial blood, would run about striking women with thongs of goat skin. This was thought to assure them of fertility and an easy delivery.

The name for these thongs—februa—meant "means of purification" and eventually gave the month of February its name.

Have a great month of February.

Kam