Holidays Calendar for February 13, 2024
National Sports Day is a public holiday in Qatar celebrated on Tuesday in the second week of February each year. It was first held in 2012.
Religious Holidays →
Angola,
Argentina,
Bolivia,
Brazil,
Cape Verde,
Dominica,
Ecuador,
French Guiana,
Grenada,
Guadeloupe,
Haiti,
Liechtenstein,
Martinique,
Panama,
Portugal,
Saint Barthelemy,
Saint Martin,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Uruguay,
Venezuela
Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
Shrove (Fat) Tuesday, also known by its French name Mardi Gras, is the culmination of the Carnival season in many countries across the world. Occurring on the day immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, it is the last night of eating fatty foods before the long-lasting Lenten season that ends before Easter.
International Condom Day is an informal observance celebrated on February 13 in conjunction with Valentine’s Day. It was created to promote the use of condoms as the only type of contraception able to prevent both unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
In 1954, the United Nations established Universal Children’s Day dedicated to improving children’s welfare worldwide. It is celebrated annually on November 20. Besides, many countries have their own national holidays to celebrate children. For example, Children’s Day in Myanmar (former Burma) is celebrated on February 13.
Parañaque Day (Araw ng Parañaque) is a special non-working holiday in Parañaque City, Philippines. It is observed annually on February 13 to commemorate the day when Parañaque was granted cityhood and recognized as a highly urbanized city.
Get a Different Name Day is one of those bizarre informal holidays, which are so numerous. It is celebrated on February 13.
February 13 is the holiday for all lovers of the Italian cuisine. It's National Tortellini Day!
Galentine’s Day is a fictional holiday invented by the writers of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. Basically, it’s like Valentine’s Day, only instead of celebrating it with their partners, women spend it with their female friends. Galentine’s Day is celebrated on the day before Valentine’s Day.
Cheese lovers across the nation celebrate National Cheddar Day every February 13. This amazing holiday was created to honor one of the most popular cheeses in the world.
National Crab Rangoon Day is a fun food holiday observed annually on February 13. It celebrates a delicious dish that is a popular appetizer in American Chinese restaurants.
Trndez is an Armenian feast of purification celebrated on February 13, the eve of the Candlemas Day.
World Radio Day is a United Nations observance that has been held on February 13 since 2012. It was originally proposed by Spain upon request of the Spanish Radio Academy.
Many Christians observe Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. Even those who do not fast often celebrate the day by eating pancakes or crêpes. Because of this, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and some other countries.
Wear Red Canada, also known as Wear Red Canada Day, is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness of women’s heart health and encourage women to be proactive in the management of their heart health and wellness.
Festivals on February 13, 2024
- Fat Tuesday in Vilnius in Vilnius, Lithuania
- Haitian Carnival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Carnival of Dominica in Roseau, Dominica
- Carnival of Aalst in Aalst, Belgium
- Panama Carnival in Panama City, Panama
- Playtime in New York, USA
- Carnival of Maastricht in Maastricht, Netherlands
- Carnival of Binche in Binche, Belgium
- Barranquilla Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia
- Pensacola Mardi Gras in Pensacola, USA
- Carnival of Sciacca in Sciacca, Italy
- Guaranda Carnival in Guaranda, Ecuador
- Carnaval de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Cajamarca Carnival in Cajamarca, Peru
- Goa Carnival (Intruz) in Panaji, India
This Day in History
- 2018 Died: Prince Henrik of Denmark, the husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession in 1972 until his death.
- 2017 Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia with the nerve agent VX.
- 2012 The first European rocket Vega was launched by the European Space Agency from a spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
- 2004 BPM 37093, the universe's largest known diamond white dwarf star, was discovered by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The star was named Lucy after The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
- 2002 Born: Sophia Lillis, American actress known for her film riles in It, It: Chapter Two, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and her TV roles on Sharp Objects and I Am Not Okay With This.
- 2001 An earthquake measuring 6.6 hit El Salvador. At least 400 were killed.
- 1997 Born: Prince Michael Jackson I, American actor, the eldest child of pop legend Michael Jackson.
- 1991 Two laser-guided smart bombs destroyed the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. The bunker was said to be used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 civilians inside were killed.
- 1983 64 people were killed in a cinema fire in Turin, Italy. The victims tried to escape the fire, but the exits were closed and locked.
- 1982 Died: Zeng Jinlian, Chinese giant. Jinlian was the tallest woman ever identified in medical history. She died at the age of 17 and was 8 feet, 1.75 inches tall (2.48 m).
- 1980 Died: David Janssen, American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive. His other TV credits Richard Diamond, Private Detective; Harry O; and O'Hara, U.S. Treasury.
- 1979 Born: Mena Suvari, American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. She rose to international prominence with her appearance in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama American Beauty.
- 1978 A bomb exploded in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. 2 refuse collectors and a policeman were killed.
- 1976 Died: Lily Pons, French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s.
- 1974 Born: Gus Hansen, professional Danish poker player who has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet, and the 2007 Aussie Millions main event.
- 1974 Born: Robbie Williams, English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Williams gained popularity as a member of Take That and then had a great commercial success as a solo artist.
- 1968 Died: Mae Marsh, American actress whose career spanned over 50 years, known for her roles in The Birth of a Nation and The White Rose.
- 1967 American researchers discovered two manuscripts called the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain. The codices remained unknown in the library for 252 years.
- 1960 Born: Pierluigi Collina, Italian footballer and referee, widely considered the best referee of his generation. He was named FIFA's Best Referee of the Year 6 consecutive times.
- 1960 France became the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons after successfully conducting a nuclear test codenamed Gerboise Bleue.
- 1951 Died: Lloyd C. Douglas, American author, known for his novels Magnificent Obsession, White Banners, The Robe, The Big Fisherman, and others.
- 1950 Died: Rafael Sabatini, Italian author, best known for his bestsellers The Sea Hawk, Scaramouche, Captain Blood, Bellarion the Fortunate.
- 1944 Born: Stockard Channing, American actress best known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing.
- 1942 Died: Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance group Obrana Národa (Defense of the Nation).
- 1932 Born: Barbara Shelley, English actress who was particularly known for her work in horror films, notably Village of the Damned; Dracula, Prince of Darkness; Rasputin, the Mad Monk; and Quatermass and the Pit.
- 1903 Born: Georges Simenon, Belgian author, best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
- 1891 Born: Grant Wood, American painter, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. His American Gothic became an iconic image of the 20th century.
- 1883 Died: Richard Wagner, German composer and theatre director, known for his operas Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, and the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.
- 1881 Born: Eleanor Farjeon, English author of children's stories, winner of many literary awards. The Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature is presented annually in her memory.
- 1881 Activist Hubertine Auclert published La Citoyenne, the first feminist newspaper, in Paris
- 1835 Born: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community with a population of at least 10 to 20 million worldwide.
- 1805 Born: Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician who made contributions to number theory and to the theory of Fourier series. He also was one of the first mathematicians to give the modern definition of a function.
- 1787 Died: Roger Joseph Boscovich, Croatian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher. He made many contributions to astronomy, including the procedure of determining the equator.
- 1571 Died: Benvenuto Cellini, Italian painter and sculptor, one of the important artists of Mannerism. Among his most notable works are Perseus with the Head of Medusa and Saliera.
- 1542 Catherine Howard, the 5th wife of Henry VIII of England, was decapitated for adultery.