February 2 is:
National Tater Tot Day
Candlemas Day celebrates the presentation of the child Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem and the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After observing the traditional 40-day period of purification following his birth, Mary took Jesus to the temple. According to a New Testament gospel, a Jewish man named Simeon held the baby in his arms and said that he would be a light for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32). It is for this reason that this event is called Candlemas.
According to Jewish tradition, a mother who gives birth to a son was excluded from the temple for 40 days. She was then to bring a lamb or a young pigeon or two turtledoves to the temple in order to be “cleansed”. If she had given birth to a daughter, the time was doubled to eighty days.
Ground Hog Day – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day is observed. Ground Hog Day began in 1887. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks.
In Scotland, the poem:
If Candle-mas Day is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year.
An English poem:
If Candle mas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
On February 2, 1913, Grand Central Terminal in New York City was opened for the first time.
1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) was incorporated.
Publication of Federalist Paper #49: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered written by James Madison in 1788. In his “Notes on the State of Virginia,”, Jefferson is quoted as saying that, since the people “are the only legitimate fountain of power” the encroachments of power cannot be addressed “without an appeal to the people themselves.” The author of this article agrees that there is logic to the idea of allowing the people to appeal through the use of a convention, but explains that it would be unworkable and contradictory to the proposed Constitution. The population would consider the Constitution defective if they had to meet in convention to “correct it”. It would be impractical to provide the opportunity for constant change once it is ratified.
1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ceding Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California to the U.S.
Birthday of Ayn Rand (February 2, 1905), (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum), Russian-American author and philosopher, founder of Objectivism. Authored “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead”.
1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.. The race is from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, a distance of 938 miles and takes from 8-20+ days to complete.