February 21

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2026 Daily Holidays that fall on February 21, include:

• Card Reading Day
• International Mother Language Day 
• National Grain Free Day 
• National Sticky Bun Day 
• World Pangolin Day - February 21, 2026 (Third Saturday in February)
• World Whale Day - February 21, 2026 (Third Sunday in February)
• Yukon Heritage Day (Canada) 

2026 Weekly Holidays that include February 21, are:

• Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Staff Education Week - February 14-21
• 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)
• Lent - February 18 - March 30, 2026
• 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 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
• Real Bread Week - February 21-28, 2026 (Second to Last Saturday to Last Saturday in February)
• Through with the Chew (Chewing Tobacco) - February 15-21, 2026 (Third Full Week in February)

2026 Monthly Holidays that include February 21, 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)
• 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)
• Simplot Games - February 19-21, 2026 - Held at Idaho State University's Holt Arena, it is one of the Nation's premier high school indoor track and field events.
• Whooping Crane Festival - February 19-22, 2026

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for February 21 is Pisces.

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

• 1924 – Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe 1987–present
• 1927 – Erma Bombeck, American humorist (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (The Golden Girls) (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Tyne Daly, American actress (Cagney & Lacey)
• 1955 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor (Frasier)
• 1958 – Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer
• 1963 – William Baldwin, American actor
• 1979 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer (Party of Five, Ghost Whisperer)
• 1987 – Ashley Greene, American model and actress (Twilight)

Famous Deaths

• 1945 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (Olympic gold in1924), dies at 43
• 1965 – Malcolm X, Multi-Racial American civil rights leader assassinated in NYC at 39 (b. 1925)
  
• 2008 – Sunny Lowry, first British woman to swim the English Channel (b. 1911)
• 2018 - Billy Graham, American evangelist (b. 1918)
• 2019 - Peter Tork, American musician and actor (The Monkees) (b. 1942)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1952 - Liz Taylor's 2nd marriage to Michael Wilding

Quote of the Day

Erma Bombeck, an American humorist was born on this day in 1927, and passed away on April 22, 1996.  She wrote a newspaper column from the mid 1960's until the late 1990 that described suburban home life and motherhood, which was published in over 900 newspapers, and read by 30 million people. She also wrote 15 books with most of them becoming bestsellers.

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

The Holidays and Observances Recipe of the Day for February 21, is an Easy Chicken Soup Recipe from Kerry, of Healthy Diet Habits.

Season

February 21st 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

• 1431 - England begins trial against Joan of Arc
• 1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
• 1857 - US issues flying eagle cents
• 1874 – The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
• 1878 – The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut (one page with 50 names!)
  
• 1885 – The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.

This is a picture of my daughter in law, Marlene, standing in front of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. during a trip her and my son, Ryan took in Nov. 2009. The Washington Monument was dedicated on this day in 1885!

Photo Credit: Ryan 

More happenings on this day:

• 1887 - Oregon becomes 1st US state to make Labor Day a holiday
• 1902 - Dr Harvey Cushing, 1st US brain surgeon, does his 1st brain operation
• 1915 - World's Fair in San Francisco opens
• 1925 – The New Yorker publishes its first issue.
• 1931 - Alka Seltzer is introduced
• 1948 – NASCAR is incorporated
• 1972 - Richard Nixon becomes the 1st US president to visit China
• 1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

This Day in Music

• 1972 - Climax' Precious and Few is certified gold
• 1975 - John Lennon releases Rock 'n' Roll album
• 1979 - The Dire Straits album is certified gold
• 1979 - Rod Stewart's Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? is certified gold
• 1990 - Paul McCartney receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd annual Grammy's.
• 2008 - Crystal Gayle is inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.
• 2011 - Lady Gaga performs the first of two shows at Madison Square Garden that will make up the footage of her HBO concert special in May.

Flash back to Junior High for Climax' Precious and Few that was certified gold in 1972!  Loved this song...his fringed white shirt, not so much!!

This Day in Sports

• 1931 - Chicago White Sox & New York Giants play 1st exhibition night game
• 1952 - Dick Button performs 1st figure skating triple jump in competition
• 1968 - Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of $10,000
• 1976 – The inaugural Winter Paralympic Games opened in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
• 1983 - Donald Davis runs 1 mile backwards in 6 m 7.1 seconds
• 1992 - Kristi Yamaguchi of the US wins Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!