Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1933, Page 30

B—14 FEBRUARY DATES FROMNUMA'SREIGN Was Put at End of Year When January Became First Month in 713 B.C. BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT. February, like January, is a new month in the formal calendar. It was not included in the subdivisions of the year traditionally supposed to have been arranged by Romulus, one of the twin founders of Rome. Not until the reign of Numa, about 713 B.C, was it added, with January, to the ten months of the earlier sched- ule, and even then it was placed at the end of the while January held the first position. It was as late as 452 B.C., most authorities agree, that the decem- virs ordered it to be the second month. The name derives from ‘“februa,” a Sabine word meaning “purification.” A famous festival, known as the: Luper- calia, was held in very ancient times under the auspices of the priests of Pan Lyceus, and the rites performed at feast were known as “purification " Plutarch savs that the celebra- tlon was instituted by Romulus, but Livy thought it had been brought into Italy by Evander. Whatever the truth mav have been. the festival was held annuallv on February 15. Th> Lupercalia is among the most obscure and mysterious of Roman cere- monials. The priests in charge were known as Luperci, signifying the “wolf averters” Geats and dogs were sacri- fled. and the celebrators ran in two bands round the walls of the old Pala- tine city, apparently striking all whom thev encountered in their wild flicht. The feast wes continued until 494 AD. when Pope Gelasius reformed it i:,:(o a mere dignified Feast ef Purifica- tion. Confusion Exists. Some confusion exists as to the dis- tinction between the Lupercalia and a E f not an identical, feast known as the rualia, when tribute was paid | to_d-ceased persons. | But the connecticn between February | and the custom of purification is an historic fact about which there is no v. ‘The Latin word “februare” i o purify. ! m-nth always has besn the| well as the only month whose numb: days Is changed in leap year. When first established it had 29 days: but when the te decreed that the eighth month E 1d beeg the nime of Augustus Caes:r, a day was n from February 2nd given to August, which until then had 0 d: Since that time Feb- 28 days long, ex- t in bissextile years, when it con- ts of 29 days. | éhc Ang'o-Saxons February | ! Sprout-Kale, from the bbage at this season. tian calendar the month ns two important feasts—Candle- | n February 2, and St. Valen- | tine’s day, February 14. ter of these commemorates in the Greek church the presentation of Christ in the temple, and in the | Western church the purification of the | Blessed Virgin. It was established | throughout the Eattern empire by Jus- tinfan in 542 A. D. A procession be- came a prominent feature of the fes- tival in the West in the time of Pope Sergius I (687-701). After the eleventh century the blessing of candles was a common feature. Christianization Seen. Some writers believe that Candlemas Is merely a Christianization of the old Lupercalia. Pope Innocent XIII is re- ported to have said in the course of a sermon: “Why do we in this feast carry candles? Because the Gentiles dedi- cated the month of February to infernal | and as at the beginning of it ‘g Egg Size zealously to eradicate the vestiges of pagan superstition; chiefly by the simple process of retaining the cere- monies, but modifying their signifi- cance, and substituted, for the drawing of names in honor of the Goddess PFebruata Juno, the names of some particular saints. But a# the festival of the Lupercalia took place during February, the fourteenth of that month, “St. Valentine's day, was se- lected for this new feast, as occuring about the same time.” Douce Supports View. Francis Douce, in his “Illustrations of Shakespeare,” nupma this view, explaining that the cl ic Lupercalia “were feasts held in Rome during the month of February in honor of Pan and Juno, hence known as Juno Feb- ruata, when among other ceremonies it was customary to put the names of young women in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed, and that the Christian clergy, finding it difficult or impossible to ex- tirpate the pagan practice, gave it at least a religious aspect by substitut- ing the names of particular saints for those of the women.” But_youth was not satisfled with the change, and the pagan custom | presisted in spite of clerical disapproval. Some shadow of it still remains in the ractice of exchanging greetings, popu- arly known as valentines. In the history of modern times Feb- ruary has been an important month. It was on February 1, 1917 that Ger- many commenced the unrestricted sub- © marine warfare which led to the par- ticipation of the United States in the World War. On February 11, 1929, Vatican City became a state. On Feb- ruary 12, 1912, China was declared & republic. The famous Glencoe massa. cre occurred on February 13, 1692. The battleship Maine was destroyed by an explosion in Havana Harbor February 15, 1898, precipitating the Spanish- American War. The tomb of King Tut-ankh-Amen was opened February 16, 1923. Gen. Maude captured Kut February 24, 1917. w* W. H. Ainsworth, English novelist, was born February 4, 1805; Sir Robert Peel, February 5, 1788; Charles Dick- ens, February 7, 1812; Charles Lamb, | B February 10, 1775; Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, February 12, 1809; George Washington, February 22, 1732; Samuel Pepys, February 23, 1632; Vic- tor Hugo, February 26, 1802, and Dame Ellen Terry, February 27, 1848. ‘Woodrow Wilson died February 3, 1924; Thomas Carlyle, February 5, 1881; Richard Wagner, February 13, 1883 Capt. James Cook, February 14, 1779: Joseph Hume, February 20, 1855, and Sir Christopher Wren, February 25, 1723. . CARS RETIRED BY LAW BERNE (#).—Thousands of automo- biles have been retired in Switzerland owing to a new law which raises the compulsory insurance for third party risks to about $20.000. In the canton of Geneva alone 4,000 machines, or' one in three, have been laid up, involving a loss in taxes of $120,000 yearl Terminal Special % Bituminous—Smokeless é g 2,240 Pounds { TERMINAL | g ICE and FUEL CO. 3rd & K Sts. N.W. Na. 0990 FASSSNINSIANSISASNANSNNNNY N A R S S S S S S S S RN S S SRS SN Lovely, crisp touches of white in ruffling of mousseline de soie, organdie or net to frame your face— bows of cross-bar and plain organdie— flowers, fresh and white—little tailored bows of pique—and huge sleeves of or- gandie and net—will make your dark frocks look new and flattering. *Rufflings and Bias Folds Yard, 25¢ to $1.50 Organdie Bows 75¢ and §1 Pique Bows 25¢ Organdie Flowers 75¢ and $1.25 Organdie and Net Steeves $2 NECKWEAR, Aste 15, Frst FLOOR. This Make-Up Kit e - DAY, FEBKUARY 1, 1933. WoobpwARD & LLoTHROP O™ I™F AND G STREETS Prone DistricT 5300 All-ahogany Desks Our Semi-Annual Selling Offers Very Fine Table Lamps ' At Low Prices Onyx Bases . .. Silk Shades . . . Adjustable Rods . . . A Wealth of Detail In The Semi- Annual Selling $3 450 An extraordinarily low price for an all-mahogany, Governor Winthrop desk of such generous di- mensions and of this quality and workmanship. 36 Inches Wide 19V Inches Deep 41 Inches High Secret Drawers FURNITURE, SIXTH FLOOR. Choose your color: Dark green, light green, blue, rose, yellow, brown, peach, rust, and natural. Jaspe effect. Beautiful Interior Dustproof Construction Locks on all Drawers Ball-and-Claw Feet Automatic Lid Supports Special—SLIP COVERS Cut and Fitted Over Your Own Furniture 201 Pluto stole Proserpine, and her mother Ceres sought her in the night with e o e e ez e 0% | Y[ OTHES TNOCTOR city with lighted candles. Because the | holy fathers could not extirpate the LEANER YER custom, they ordained that Christians Given With Every For Divan For Divan and and Armchair sl 6'85 Two Armchairs S22’50 . We are able to make these special prices only because this is the dull season. The slip covers will be custom-made, of Trusha—a splendid, tubfast, sunfast fabric. Finished with French seams. PERFECT FIT IS ASSURED, as the covers are actually cut over your own furniture, and fitted by our expert cutters and fitters, CAREFUL TAILORING, in our usual custom manner. These special prices include material and all labor. Maximum al- lowance of 22 yards of material for 3-piece suites, and 16 yards for 2-piece suites. Treatment Purchase qf ‘ This offer_is limited to Washington and its environs (within a 1d "catry candles in honor of the Candlemas is everywhere a great day | dlemas foretelling a successicn of un- | T s o s ably cold days and necessarily a | faiiur> of the crops, while bad weather | In Germany centuries ago the badger i Make-up Kit will be included with every treatment purchase 10-mile radius). Phone DIstrict 5300—We Will Call With Samples. thus, the mythological ancestors of the i ed ‘vutg:‘n ;lnd thus‘ \gmt w'}i done Since 1905 ore to e honor of eres now | ne to the honor of the Virgin.” | SPEC] AL for weather prognostications, But, 1t is said. these pregnostications, like dreams, | ; g by contraries, fine weather on Can- | This Week Oply . . on that day is supposed to be a sure | F D P ey s s o e & Su rances venne reparatlons to match. | ‘ OA l S - Miss Borgia Duffy, Frances Denney’s .representative, will be Eg;l;l‘;g‘l‘ism d'g,_Pifl;}k°g;m"s‘a§“$gg‘eflgg [ SUIT S here only three days longer, during which time this delightful ning, he drew back. e badger was N . £ P . of Frances Denney preparations. This kit contains five make- g‘:o\;’nd hoig of l;he c.derg:an l\:?dnalmmgwmecs ls that will bring you new loveliness. Miss Duffy 0! ennsylvani an e e ‘est. H e e you, without charge, about your beauty problems. ered a Christian successor to the Lupercalia of the heathen Romans. Alban Butler, in his “Lives of the Saints,” says that Christian pastors by i Hear Miss Duffy Tomorrow (Over WRC at 9:45) Tell You every means in their power worked ] “More News About Make-Up” THE STAR BUILDING || — IMPORTANT AND CONVENIENT ADDRESS IN ¥ >4 Combinations s P g ki At these prices, these superb X Karashah rugs are low enough for s ! : the average home. Replicas of CAPITAL ‘ B priceless Persian and Oriental IN THE SPOTLIGHT MANUFACTURING DIVISION OFFICE, SEVENTH FLOOR. Phone DIstrict 5300 for an appointment, or stop by when shopping. Lovely Copies of Priceless Oriental Rugs—in The Semi- Annual Selling . . . Karashah RUGS Milanese i MR | =5 870950 2-LIGHT LAMP Johnson's Electric Floor-Polishing Outfits $| 9.75 In Each Set HEAVY. DUTY WAX APPLIER . . . Puts the proper amount of wax Sculptured Smoothness with These $98.50 thick—their designs are exquisite —their sheen is glorious. In- cluded are one-of-a-kind samples and patterns the manufacturer Evening Star Building; fLocate in the center ing Institutions, Hotels, thriving source. ants. fAn attractive corner ing inaugural and other f[Locate your Business Headquarters in the new Government Building Group—many occu- pied and others nearing completion. | important Business Activities—leading Bank- District—in fact, all vital points feed from this SUITES AND SINGLE OFFICES {Space and rentals conforming with small or large Business Budgets at rates consistent with existing conditions, available to desirable ten- Ideal location for entertaining clients in view- APPLY SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE the key position to the of Washington's all- Theaters and Shopping suite now available. historic parades. $2.95 For the smoothest of lines, wear one of these milanese combinations * over your foundation, It is without a single seam in the front and back, and hooks snug- ly at the side. From the lace-trimmed ‘bandeau top " to the lace-trimmed pantie bottom one is assured of smooth lines. Sizes 32 to 38. Snx Umpsawear, Temo FLOOR. 3-LIGHT LAMP : $9.75 Lamps made for us by one of our best manufacturers. Note the attention to detail—the dainty beading round the candle holders, the intricate bases, the graceful arms, the besutiful finnials, the smart tailored bow on each shade —the one switch to work all the lights. Antique gold, black; and onyx finish— gold, rust, or green shades. Laurs, SzvENTE FLOOR. will not make again. Other Sizes in the Group :if::hsrilz; $3450...000uennee $24°50 3.1x92 Size. Regularly $31........ e 2.4x108 Size. Regularly $29.50............ Regeary 160....corrcco. $13.75 2.4x4.2 Size. Regularly $1250......000000 9x152 Size. Regularly $145 .....c00veinnne 9x182 Size. Regularly $185.....000000000e 9x21.2 Size. . Regularly $225.....0000000000 Rucs, Forre FLoOR. - $9.50 $115 $145 -$165 on the floor and spreads it evenly. ELECTRIC POLISHER... Shines quickly and efficiently, with little more effort then it takes to walk across the floor. DRY MOP... For everyday mopping. 1 PINT JOHNSON'S LIQUID WAX 1 POUND JOHNSON'S PASTE WAX ROOM 610 OR NA., 5000 A