February 8

 Holidays and Observances

2020 Daily Holidays that fall on February 8, include:

• Boy Scout Anniversary Day 
• Laugh and Get Rich Day 
• Molasses Bar Day 
• Opera Day 
• Scout Sabbath - February 8, 2020 (Last Day of Boy Scout Week)

2020 Weekly Holidays that include February 8, are:

• Boy Scout Anniversary Week - February 2-8, 2020
• Burn Awareness Week - February 2-8, 2020
• Children's Authors & Illustrators Week - February 2-8, 2020 (First Full Week in February)
• Children's Mental Health Week - February 3-9, 2020 (First Full Week in February)
• Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week - February 7-14 
• Dry Bean Day - February 6-8, 2020
• Dump Your Significant Jerk Week - February 2-8, 2020 (Week Before Valentines Day)
• Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week - February 7-14
• International Week of Black Women In the Arts - February 7-15
• Love Makes the World Go Round, but Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week - February 8-14
• National Crime Prevention Week - February 2-8, 2020
• National Green Week - February 2 - April 30, 2020
• National Marriage Week USA - February 7-14
• Publicity for Profit Week - February 2-8
• Risk Awareness Week - February 7-14

2020 Monthly Holidays that include February 8, 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

• Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival - Starts annually on January 5, and typically runs for a month or more, in Harbin, China and is the largest ice and snow festival in the world! 2020 dates are January 5 - February 20, 2020
• Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show - January 17 - February 8, 2020 (Fort Worth, TX)
• Yukon Quest - Starts February 1, 2020 - February 15, 2020 (approx) This is a 1,000 mile International Sled Dog Race from Whitehorse, Yukon to Anchorage, Alaska. (Race is typically 10-14 days long)
• Chinese New Year Festival and Parade - (San Francisco) - Parade is February 8, 2020
• Carnival of Venice - February 8-25, 2020 - An annual festival held in Venice, Italy where people wear masks and costumes.

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for February 8 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

• 1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
• 1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
• 1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
• 1940 – Ted Koppel, American journalist
• 1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor (48 Hours, Rich Man Poor Man)
  
• 1948 – Dan Seals, American singer (England Dan and John Ford Coley) (d. 2009)
• 1955 – John Grisham, American writer (The Firm, The Client, The Pelican Brief, The Runaway Jury)
• 1963 – Joshua Kadison, American pianist and songwriter
• 1966 - Gary Coleman, American actor (Different Strokes)
• 1974 - Seth Green, American actor

Famous Deaths

• 1725 - Peter the Great (Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov), Tsar of Russia from 1682-1725
• 1936 – Charles Curtis, 1st American-Indian Vice-President of the United States (b. 1860)
• 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model, actress, and entertainer (b. 1967)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1985 - Director Martin Scorsese marries producer Barbara De Fina

Quote of the Day

February 8th is Laugh and Get Rich Day!

"There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor." ~ Charles Dickens

"Laughter is wine for the soul - laughter soft, or loud and deep, tinged through with seriousness - the hilarious declaration made by man that life is worth living." ~ Sean O'Casey

"Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine." ~ Lord Byron

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

The Holidays and Observances, Recipe of the Day for February 8, is a Spinach Salad, with Strawberries, and Chicken from a Rotisserie Chicken from Kerry, at Healthy Diet Habits.  This is one of many recipes that you can quickly make from purchasing a Rotisserie Chicken.

This Day in History

• 1735 - 1st opera in US "Flora," opens in Charleston, SC
• 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
• 1865 – Delaware voters reject the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery (finally ratified on February 12, 1901.
• 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
• 1918 - The Stars & Stripes, a weekly US armed forces newspaper is 1st published
• 1922 – President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
• 1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
• 1952 – Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom
• 1960 – The first eight brass star plaques are installed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 1969 - Last edition of Saturday Evening Post
• 1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
• 1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.

This Day in Music

• 1960 - Mark Dinning's Teen Angel hits #1
• 1965 - Supremes release Stop In the Name of Love
• 1973 - Carly Simon's You're So Vain is certified gold
• 1975 - The Ohio Players' "Fire" hits #1
• 1982 - Cher makes her Broadway debut in Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
• 2006 - David Bowie is awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 2006 - The 48th annual Grammy Awards - Madonna opened the awards for a third time, U2 won 5 awards, and Mariah Carey won 3 awards
• 2009 - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Lil Wayne and Coldplay are the big winners at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Joshua Kadison, an American pianist and songwriter was born on this day in 1963. I always liked his song, Jesse, shown above...beautiful piano playing!  His song, Beautiful in My Eyes, is often played at weddings.

This Day in Sports

• 1948 - 5th Winter Olympic games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
• 1981 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Elaine Zayak
• 1981 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
• 1983 - Wayne Gretzky sets NHL all star record of 4 goals in 1 period
• 1984 - 14th Winter Olympic games opens in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
• 1986 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano
• 1992 - 16th Winter Olympic games opens in Albertville, France
• 1998 - 1st female ice hockey game in Olympic history Finland beats Sweden 6-0
• 2002 - XIX Winter Olympics opens in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!