February is the month of Violets, Amethyst and Aquarius

It's February and today is my sister's birthday, and my niece's too. What a birthday gift, a blessing to my sister on her birthday to give birth to a beautiful daughter 25 years ago. Here's wishing them both a blessed day as they celebrate this day apart, a continent apart, and yet just a click and a phone call away.

The flower for the month of February is the African Violet and the birthstone is Amethyst. Violets represent chastity, humility and faithfulness.

February's purple birthstone has been found among the possessions of royalty throughout the ages. The intense violet hue of Amethyst appealed to early monarchs, perhaps because they often wore this color. Amethyst is also symbolic of spirituality and piety. It has been used to ornament churches and crosses used in religious ceremony, and worn in rings and on rosaries by bishops and priests.

For the Aquarian, enjoy this month's segment of a Gregorian Birth Stone Poem:

The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they, the amethyst will wear.