FEBRUARY: It’s the shortest month, and the one in which love is celebrated — the 14th, Valentine’s Day. In connection with matters of the heart, it’s also American Heart Month, a time to learn about heart health and cardiovascular diseases.

It’s also Black History Month, National Children’s Dental Health Month, National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, National Cancer Awareness Month, Age-Related Macular Degeneration/ Low Vision Awareness Month and National Prenatal Infection Prevention Month.

There are a lot of awareness days, too. The first Friday of the month is National Bubble Gum Day. In case one feels the need to celebrate, National Iowa Day is Feb. 8.

Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day, along with National Toothache Day. Yikes. Not much of a celebration.

Feb. 10 is National Umbrella Day, while Feb. 11 celebrates Peppermint Patties, White T-shirts and not crying over spilled milk. Really.

Feb. 15 is set aside for Singles Awareness (in the aftermath of Valentine’s Day, we gather) and for honoring the state of Wisconsin, the 30th state to join the union.

Almonds, cabbages, random acts of kindness, cheddar cheese, batteries, wine, crab-stuffed flounder, Arabian horses, eyelashes, chocolate mint, muffins, cherry pies, sticky buns, margaritas, dog biscuits, banana bread, tortilla chips, clam chowder, pistachios, chili, polar bears, strawberries, Kahlua, chocolate souffle, the tooth fairy, floral design, toast and rare diseases are all honored in some way during the month, too.

Feb. 22 is National California Day, celebrating the 31st state to join the union.

Feb. 26 is National Set a Good Example Day and National Tell a Fairy Tale Day.

There’s a lot to celebrate in February, even though we were hoping that groundhog of Feb. 2 fame would have told us of an early spring.