February 8

Holidays

62 holidays recorded on February 8 throughout history

← February 7 All categories February 9 →

Quote of the Day

“War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”

— William Tecumseh Sherman

Talk to William

Browse by category

Events Births Deaths Holidays

Antiquity 15

Mahayana Buddhists observe Parinirvana Day to reflect on the Buddha’s final passing into nirvana upon his physical death.

Mahayana Buddhists observe Parinirvana Day to reflect on the Buddha’s final passing into nirvana upon his physical death. Practitioners spend the day meditating on the impermanence of all things and the liberation from the cycle of rebirth. This focus on letting go encourages followers to deepen their commitment to spiritual practice and compassion for others.

Prešeren Day honors France Prešeren, Slovenia's greatest poet, who died on February 8, 1849.

Prešeren Day honors France Prešeren, Slovenia's greatest poet, who died on February 8, 1849. He wrote in Slovene when the Habsburg Empire wanted everyone writing in German. His poem "Zdravljica" — a toast to freedom and friendship among nations — became Slovenia's national anthem 142 years after his death. The seventh stanza is what they sing: "Let all nations live, who long to see the day when war will end, when free they'll be." He published one book in his lifetime. It sold poorly. He spent his last years as a small-town lawyer, drinking too much, never knowing his work would define a nation's identity.

Nirvana Day marks the death of the Buddha — not his birth, not his enlightenment.

Nirvana Day marks the death of the Buddha — not his birth, not his enlightenment. February 15th in most traditions. He was 80 years old, lying between two sal trees, surrounded by disciples. His last words: "All things decay. Work out your salvation with diligence." Buddhists call it parinirvana — complete extinction, the final release from the cycle of rebirth. It's observed with meditation, visits to temples, reflection on impermanence. Some Buddhans celebrate it in November instead, depending on which calendar they follow. The date matters less than what it commemorates: the moment suffering finally ended for someone who spent 45 years teaching others how to end theirs.

Scout Sunday and Scout Sabbath invite members to reflect on their duty to God and their community within their respec…

Scout Sunday and Scout Sabbath invite members to reflect on their duty to God and their community within their respective houses of worship. These observances reinforce the organization’s foundational commitment to spiritual development, ensuring that scouts integrate their moral training into their daily lives while strengthening ties between local troops and religious institutions.

Jerome Emiliani is the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children.

Jerome Emiliani is the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children. He earned it. In the 1530s, plague swept through northern Italy. Parents died by the thousands. Children wandered the streets of Venice and Bergamo with nowhere to go. Emiliani, a former soldier turned priest, took them in. He founded orphanages, shelters, hospitals. He taught the boys trades so they could support themselves. He didn't just feed them. He gave them a future. He caught the plague himself while caring for them. Died in 1537. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on February 8th. He's remembered because he didn't look away.

Saint Juventius was a fourth-century Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and refused to sacrifice to pagan gods.

Saint Juventius was a fourth-century Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. The emperor had him beheaded. His feast day became a minor celebration in parts of Italy, mostly forgotten outside specific parishes. But here's what stuck: he's the patron saint of young people facing impossible choices between conscience and authority. Not just religious martyrdom — any moment where staying silent would be easier. Medieval guilds invoked him before strikes. Students before exams that required lying. Soldiers before refusing orders. He died for saying no. The day became about everyone who has to.

Meingold of Huy gets a feast day, but nobody's sure who he was.

Meingold of Huy gets a feast day, but nobody's sure who he was. The church records list him as a saint. No miracles, no martyrdom story, no verified acts. Just a name in medieval Liège and a date on the calendar. He might have been a bishop. He might have been a hermit. He might have been invented by a scribe who needed to fill November. The faithful still celebrate him in parts of Belgium. They're honoring a man whose entire life might be a clerical assumption.

The Eastern Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar for feast days, which is why their Christmas falls on Janu…

The Eastern Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar for feast days, which is why their Christmas falls on January 7th by the Gregorian calendar everyone else uses. It's not a different date — it's December 25th on their calendar, which is 13 days behind. Every year the gap widens. By 2100, Orthodox Christmas will be January 8th. The calendar was adopted in 45 BCE. It's been drifting ever since. They know. They've chosen not to change it. For them, continuity with the ancient church matters more than synchronization with the modern world.

Cuthmann of Steyning is celebrated today, mostly in Sussex, England.

Cuthmann of Steyning is celebrated today, mostly in Sussex, England. He was a medieval shepherd who built a church. The legend says he wheeled his paralyzed mother across the countryside in a handcart, looking for a place to settle. The cart's rope broke. He tied it together with a withy — a willow branch. An aristocrat mocked him for it. Cuthmann prayed. The aristocrat froze mid-plowing, stuck in his field until he apologized. The church Cuthmann built became Steyning Church. It's still there. Sussex farmers still call him the patron saint of awkward family obligations.

Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped at seven and sold five times before she was twelve.

Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped at seven and sold five times before she was twelve. Her captors scarred her body with over a hundred razor cuts, rubbing salt in the wounds to make patterns. In Italy, the family that owned her placed her in a convent. She refused to leave. An Italian court ruled in 1889 that she'd been free the moment she entered Italy — slavery had been illegal there since 1776. She became a nun. The Catholic Church made her a saint in 2000.

Juventius of Pavia gets a feast day because he refused to sacrifice to Roman gods and got beheaded for it.

Juventius of Pavia gets a feast day because he refused to sacrifice to Roman gods and got beheaded for it. Probably in the 2nd century, though nobody's sure. The Catholic Church celebrates him today in northern Italy, where his relics supposedly still rest in Pavia's San Michele Basilica. His story follows a pattern: young Christian, Roman persecution, public execution, instant martyr. What makes him distinct is basically nothing—he's one of dozens of early martyrs with nearly identical stories. The details got lost or invented over centuries. But Pavia kept celebrating anyway. Sometimes tradition survives longer than truth.

Stephen of Muret founded the Order of Grandmont in 1076 after twelve years living alone in the forest.

Stephen of Muret founded the Order of Grandmont in 1076 after twelve years living alone in the forest. His rule was simple: absolute poverty, no property, monks do manual labor, lay brothers handle everything else. After he died in 1124, the lay brothers ran the order. They controlled the money, the land, the decisions. The monks prayed. By 1185 the brothers had more power than the abbots. The arrangement collapsed in riots. Stephen's feast day celebrates the man who accidentally proved that inverting a hierarchy doesn't fix it — it just inverts the problems.

Orthodox Christians observe the Feast of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of Great Lent, exactly 42 days before Easter.

Orthodox Christians observe the Feast of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of Great Lent, exactly 42 days before Easter. This celebration commemorates the restoration of icons to the church in 843, ending decades of iconoclastic conflict and establishing the veneration of images as a core tenet of Eastern Orthodox theology.

Propose Day is the second day of India's Valentine's Week — February 8th, between Rose Day and Chocolate Day.

Propose Day is the second day of India's Valentine's Week — February 8th, between Rose Day and Chocolate Day. It's when people are supposed to formally confess feelings they've been hinting at since Rose Day. The entire week is a retail invention from the early 2000s, pushed by greeting card companies and malls. Traditional arranged marriages still account for over 90% of Indian marriages. But Propose Day card sales? They've quadrupled since 2010.

North Korea celebrates the founding of its army on February 8, 1948.

North Korea celebrates the founding of its army on February 8, 1948. Except the Korean People's Army wasn't actually founded then. Kim Il-sung created guerrilla units in the 1930s fighting Japan. The official army formed in 1946. But 1948 made better propaganda math — it pushed the military's origin before South Korea declared independence. The date changed three times between 1948 and 1978 as the regime rewrote its own mythology. Now it's April 25, backdated to 1932. The holiday exists to claim the military predates the country itself.

Undated 47

Día Internacional del Genetista.

Kirchliche Gedenktage Carpentarius, deutscher Priester und Märtyrer (evangelisch)

Hari Kuyō in Kantō, Japan

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de Ríete y Hazte Rico.(en inglés: Laugh And Get Rich Day).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día del Vuelo de Cometas.(en inglés: National Kite Flying Day).

India India: Día de la Proposición o Propuesta.

India India: Día de la Proposición o Propuesta. Se celebra como un día para proponer matrimonio a la pareja. Un gran número de jóvenes regalan rosas para proponer matrimonio a su futura novia o novio. Es el segundo día de la Semana de San Valentín. Aunque el Día de San Valentín se celebra en todo el mundo, la Semana de San Valentín se celebra sólo en la India con varias festividades, incluido el Día de la Rosa el día 7 de febrero.

IránIrán Irán: Eid al-Mab'athm.

República de China República de China: Fiesta del Año Nuevo Lunar.

VietnamVietnam Vietnam: Fiesta del Tet.

Santa Cointa, virgen y mártir.

San Honorato de Milán, obispo italiano.

San Jovencio de Pavia, obispo italiano.

San Lacuto de Bretaña, abad francés.

San Nicecio de Tréveris, obispo francés.

San Pablo de Verdún, obispo francés.

Beata Josefina Gabriela Bonino, religiosa y fundadora.

Beato Pedro Igneo, obispo.

Nicet de Besançon († 613), 20e évêque de Besançon.

Jacut de Landoac († Ve siècle), abbé de l'abbaye de Saint-Jacut en Bretagne côtière nord.

Cuthman de Steyning (en) († 889), berger et thaumaturge dans le Sussex.

Airy de Verdun († 591), évêque - fêté aussi le 1er décembre.

Christianisme orthodoxe : mémoire de l'évêque de Bytélion Théognios († 522) dans le lectionnaire de Jérusalem.

Bouddhisme : Parinirvana Day (en) ou « jour du nirvana parfait ».

Aux Joséphine et ses variantes Joséfina, Joséfine, Joséphina, Giuseppina, etc., et sa forme masculine Joséphin (voir …

Aux Joséphine et ses variantes Joséfina, Joséfine, Joséphina, Giuseppina, etc., et sa forme masculine Joséphin (voir 19 mars).

Cointa, Coïnte, Cointha, Coïnthe, Conita, Quina, Quinta ou Quinte voire d'autres de leurs variantes.

aux Jacut, Jagu et leurs variantes autant bretonnes : Jakez, Jeg(o)u, Yagu, etc.

Sava / Sabas II de Serbie († 1271) — ou « Sabbas » —, moine au mont Athos, archevêque de Peć et neveu de saint Sabas …

Sava / Sabas II de Serbie († 1271) — ou « Sabbas » —, moine au mont Athos, archevêque de Peć et neveu de saint Sabas Ier de Serbie.

Philadelphe et Polycarpe († ?).

Nicéphore († ?), et Étienne, martyrs écorchés vifs.

Macaire († ?), évêque de Paphos à Chypre.

Joséphine-Gabrielle Bonino († 1906), bienheureuse religieuse italienne fondatrice des sœurs de la Sainte Famille de N…

Joséphine-Gabrielle Bonino († 1906), bienheureuse religieuse italienne fondatrice des sœurs de la Sainte Famille de Nazareth de Savillan.

Johann Philipp Jeningen († 1704), bienheureux jésuite allemand.

Jacqueline de Septisoles († 1274), bienheureuse laïque italienne disciple de saint François d'Assise.

Espérance de Jésus († 1983), bienheureuse religieuse espagnole fondatrice des servantes de l'Amour miséricordieux et …

Espérance de Jésus († 1983), bienheureuse religieuse espagnole fondatrice des servantes de l'Amour miséricordieux et des fils de l'Amour miséricordieux.

Zacharie († -515), prophète biblique.

Aniversário do município de Água Clara, Mato Grosso do Sul

Christian feast day: Cuthmann of Steyning

Date possible pour le début du nouvel an asiatique entre 20 janvier et 20 février au gré de la Lune.

Victor de Mouzon († 420), berger martyr.

Paul de Verdun († 649), 13e évêque de Verdun.

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de la Barra de Melaza.(en inglés: National Molasses Bar Day).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de la Ópera.(en inglés: Opera Day).

Estados Unidos Estados Unidos: Día de la Ópera.(en inglés: Opera Day). El Día Mundial de la Ópera (World Opera Day) se celebra el 25 de octubre.

Corea del NorteCorea del Norte Corea del Norte: Día de la Fundación Militar.(en coreano: 조선인민군 창건일).(en inglés: Milit…

Corea del NorteCorea del Norte Corea del Norte: Día de la Fundación Militar.(en coreano: 조선인민군 창건일).(en inglés: Military Foundation Day).

Chile Chile: Día Nacional de la Piscola.

Chile Chile: Día Nacional de la Piscola. Trago típico chileno que se prepara con pisco chileno, bebida de cola o gaseosa con hielo.

Argentina Argentina: San Luis: Día de la Paisana Puntana.

Argentina Argentina: San Luis: Día de la Paisana Puntana. En honor a Francisca “Pancha” Hernández.

Día de Google Maps (Mapas de Google).Aniversario de la creación de Mapas de Google, el servicio de plano, carta, atla…

Día de Google Maps (Mapas de Google).Aniversario de la creación de Mapas de Google, el servicio de plano, carta, atlas, mapamundi y planisferio más popular y conocido del mundo, que fue liberado el 8 de febrero del año 2005 (hace 21 años). Se accede al servicio de forma gratuita desde cualquier navegador web, mediante la dirección URL: https://www.google.com/maps/ o en dispositivos móviles usando su aplicación.