Happy Valentine’s Day Gigi’s Playhouse NYC!

There are a lot of holidays that are celebrated in February 2025 this year. For example, National Freedom Day, Groundhog Day, National Wear Red Day, my father’s 70th birthday, National Cheddar Day, Valentine’s Day, my parents’ 26th wedding anniversary, National Almond Day, and Presidents’ Day all fall in February.

National Freedom Day is celebrated on Saturday, February 1st this year, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion in different ways including educating themselves about the history of slavery in the U.S., the abolitionist movement, and the significance of the 13th Amendment, taking the time to personally consider what freedom means to you and the ongoing struggle for civil rights, sharing knowledge, discussing the history of slavery and the civil rights movement with friends and family, participating in local ceremonies, forums, lectures, or film screenings related to the topic of freedom, joining conversations about current issues related to civil rights and social justice, and donating to or volunteering with groups working to advance civil rights.

Groundhog Day is celebrated on Sunday, February 2nd this year. On this day, according to tradition, people watch the behavior of a groundhog (also called a woodchuck) to find out what the weather will be like for the next six weeks. If the animal sees its shadow as it comes out of its burrow, there will be six more weeks of wintery weather. However, if it does not see its shadow, the weather will be mild and springlike. The groundhog prediction is often wrong. However, the holiday is a time for people to have fun in the middle of winter. They get together to watch the groundhog and to sing songs and play games. Also, on this day it’s my friend’s birthday from Canada, and her name is Christina.

National Wear Red Day is celebrated on Friday, February 7th this year. People wear red as a way to bring attention to the problem of heart disease in women. Many women wear red dresses, the identifying symbol for the day. Health organizations hold seminars and public outreach events to educate people about prevention and screening of heart disease. This is a great day to spread love since it’s about the heart. Red is one of my favorite colors.

My father’s birthday is on Monday, February 10th, and he’s turning 70 years old this year. We like to celebrate his birthday every February.

National Cheddar Day is celebrated on Thursday, February 13th this year, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion in a lot of ways. This includes hosting a party with friends and family, sharing your favorite cheddar recipes, organizing a wine and cheese night, making fondue, and having a grilled cheese cook-off. On this day, I am planning on making grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Friday, February 14th this year, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion in a lot of different ways. Some of these ways include exchanging gifts like flowers, chocolates, jewelry, or personalized presents, writing love letters or heartfelt cards to express their feelings, cooking a romantic meal at home or making reservations at a restaurant, spending quality time together watching a movie, going for a walk, planning a weekend getaway, making a marriage proposal, and exchanging Valentine cards and candy with friends. Valentine’s Day is also my parents’ 26th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe they have been married that long. Valentine’s Day is a special occasion dedicated to expressing love and affection to those closest to our hearts. I think Valentine’s Day is about spreading love to people with gifts of flowers, chocolates, money, lottery tickets, and receiving gifts from your loved ones.

National Almond Day is celebrated on Sunday, February 16th this year, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion in different ways including snacking on almonds, adding them to trail mix, salads, or smoothies, making almond cookies, almond butter, or almond-flavored pastries, adding almonds to savory dishes like sauces, meats, and salads, learning about the history and cultivation of almonds, sharing almond facts and recipes with friends and family on social media, using vitamin E-rich almond oil on your skin and hair, planting an almond tree, and petitioning for an almond emoji. The Almond Board of California has an initiative to petition for an almond emoji.

Presidents’ Day is celebrated on Monday, February 17th this year, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion in different ways. This includes organizing parades with marching bands, historical reenactments, and patriotic displays, incorporating Presidents’ Day into school curriculums with discussions, projects, and themed events, holding ceremonies and wreath layings at the memorials of past presidents, especially in Washington, D.C., and reflecting on the legacies of our presidents. While the holiday officially honors George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, many people also reflect on and celebrate the contributions of other American presidents.

On Valentine’s Day in 2025 I have a lot of valentines. For example, my valentines are Peter Colombos, his parents Sophia and Alex Colombos, Peter’s grandmother and my friend in heaven Eleftheria Tzvias (May she rest in eternal peace and happiness this Valentine’s Day.), my helper Laura Mangino and the Mangino family, my grandparents Pop Pop and Maureen, my beloved grandmother Katherine Supon in heaven (May she rest in eternal peace this Valentine’s Day.), my parents Denise and Leo, my brother Harris, and most importantly my long time friends from Canada named Aldo, Dolores, Christina, Daniella, and Annalisa.

Wishing you all happiness and love this Valentine’s Day. Please write in the comments section below the names of your valentines and what you plan on doing for Valentine’s Day.

See you in March 2025 with another blog post about the upcoming spring season.

Love always,
Fatima ❤️