February 17

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2026 Daily Holidays that fall on February 17, include:

• Analog to Digital TV Day
• Champion Crab Races Day
• Chinese New Year - February 17, 2026
• International Pancake Day - February 17, 2026 (47 Days Before Easter)
• Korean New Year - February 17, 2026
• My Way Day
• National Cabbage Day 
• National Cafe Au Lait Day 
• National Indian Pudding Day 
• National PTA Founders Day
• National Public Science Day 
• National Tennis Pro Day 
• Random Acts of Kindness Day 
• Travel Africa Day - February 17, 2026 (Third or Fourth Tuesday in February)
• Who Shall I Be Day 
• World Human Spirit Day 

2026 Weekly Holidays that include February 17, are:

• Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Staff Education Week - February 14-21
• American Camp Week - February 17-20, 2026
• Brotherhood / Sisterhood Week - February 15-21, 2026 (Third Week in February)
• Build a Better Trade Show Image Week - February 15-21, 2026 (Third Full Week in February)
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week - February 13-19
• Love Teaching Week - February 14-21
• Make Mine Chocolate - (Campaign kicks off annually on Feb 15, and ends on Easter which is April 3, 2026)
• National Condom Week - February 14-21
• National Date Week (Fruit) - February 11-20
• National Entrepreneurship Week - February 15-21, 2026 (Third Week of February)
• National Green Week - February 1 - April 30, 2026 (Start First Full Week in February to April 30)
• National Nestbox Week - February 14-21
• National Pancake Week - February 16-22, 2026
• NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week - February 14-21
• Ramadan - Evening of February 17, 2026 - Evening of March 18, 2026
• Random Acts of Kindness Week - February 15-20, 2026 
• Take Your Family to School Week - February 16-20, 2026
• Through with the Chew (Chewing Tobacco) - February 15-21, 2026 (Third Full Week in February)

2026 Monthly Holidays that include February 17, are:

There are too many monthly holidays to include here, so please check out our February Holidays page to see all of the holidays that are celebrated the entire month of February.

NOTE:

1. A page on each holiday will be coming soon and linked above.
2. If a date is a movable holiday, that is different every year, I'll include the year as well as the date rule above. Otherwise, the holiday falls on the same date each year.

World Festivals and Events
(Date Order)

• Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show - January 16 - February 25, 2026 (Fort Worth, TX)
• Winter Olympics - February 3-22, 2026 (Milan-Cortina)
• Carnival of Venice - February 7-17, 2026 - An annual festival held in Venice, Italy where people wear masks and costumes
• Chinese New Year Festival and Parade (San Francisco, CA) -February 7 - March 15, 2026;  Parade is on March 7, 2026
• Carnival (Rio de Janeiro in Brazil) - February 13-21, 2026 - Carnival is the biggest festival in the world with two million people a day on the streets. Floats, Parades, Balls, Music and Dancing are all part of the Event
• Losar - February 17-24, 2026 - The Tibetan New Year, a three day festival that mixes sacred and secular practices that include prayers, ceremonies, hanging prayer flags, as well as sacred and folk dancing and partying. The first day is the most important. (Buddhist)

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for February 17 is an Aquarius.

Birth Flower of the Month

The Birth Flower(s) for the Month for February are:

• Violet - symbolizes faithfulness, loyalty, humility, wisdom, and hope
  
• Primrose - Modesty, distinction, and virtue
  
  

Birthstone

The Birthstone for February is Amethyst.

Famous Birthdays

• 1864 – Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, Australian poet (Waltzing Matilda, The Man from Snowy River) (d. 1941)
• 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor (All the President's Men, Mark Twain)
• 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
• 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
• 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player
• 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong, singer/musician (Green Day)

Famous Deaths

• 1909 – Geronimo, Apache leader (b. 1829)
• 2013 - Mindy McCready - Country singer
• 2021 - Rush Limbaugh, American conservative talk show host and author (b. 1951)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1906 - 26th US President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice marries in the White House

Quote of the Day

Banjo Paterson, an Australian poet was born on this day in 1864.  His poem, The Man from Snowy River was made into a movie.  Above is his poem recited to scenes from the movie - the most amazing horse scenes! Having lived in Australia for four years growing up, I loved this movie and it's sequel.

Healthy Diet Habit Tip of the Day 
or a Recipe of the Day

The Holidays and Observances Recipe of the Day for February 17, is a Broccoli Salad Recipe from Kerry, of Healthy Diet Habits.

Season

February 17th falls within the Winter Season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Winter is one of the four seasons. It follows the Fall Season, and is before the Spring Season. It is the coldest and darkest season in the Northern Hemisphere. It also starts in one year, and ends in the next, so it straddles two different years. 

Check out our Winter Season page for information about Winter, Winter Dates, Major Winter Holidays and Observances, Major Winter Festivals, Fun Facts About Winter, Winter Food Tips, Winter Gardening, Winter Preparation, Winter Quotes, and Winter Weather Information.

Kerry has put together some great information and tips on winter foods: 

• Winter Foods
• Winter Weight Gain
• Winter Weight Loss Tips

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, this day falls in the Summer Season. 

• Summer
• Summer Cooking 
• Summer Weight Loss Tips 

This Day in History

• 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the US and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
• 1897 - National Organization of Mothers forms (Parent Teacher Association)
• 1911 - 1st hydroplane flight to & from a ship (Glenn Curtiss, San Diego)
• 1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States
• 1933 - 1st issue of "Newsweek" magazine published
• 1936 - The world's first superhero, The Phantom, makes his first appearance in comics. (by Lee Falk)
• 1957 - Suez Canal reopens
• 1958 - Comic strip "BC" debuts
• 1959 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
• 1972 - Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T
• 1974 - Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House with a stolen helicopter
• 1980 – Mount Everest, 1st Winter Ascent by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.

This Day in Music

• 1965 - Tennessee Waltz is declared the state's official song.
• 1967 - The Beatles release Penny Lane & Strawberry Fields
• 1970 - Joni Mitchell's final concert at Royal Albert Hall
• 1976 - Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is released
• 1987 - Bon Jovi's Livin' On a Prayer hits #1
• 2007 - Norah Jones's album Not Too Late hits #1
  

Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer - Unplugged

This Day in Sports

• 1924 - Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds)
• 1941 - Joe Louis KOs Gus Dorazio in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1943 - NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio, enlists into the US army
• 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila Warriors scores 67 points vs St Louis
• 1991 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge
• 1998 - USA Women's Ice Hockey Team beats Canada and wins the first Olympic Gold medal

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!