* According to lunar calendar, 5 II is beginning of spring, but it is still very cold. So I this contrast is what makes February special.
   * It's also the month of 節分（せつぶん）, where evil demons are cast out and luck is invited in - similar to Calandamarz?
   * Poetic name is 如月（きさらぎ）, literally //like the moon//, but also bears the meaning of //rebirth// or //regeneration//. There's a [[hakuin|poem]] about the plum blossoms struggling through the winter cold that Soshitsu XV finds fitting to this season; and of course 利休's favorite [[wabi|侘び]] poem about the grasses.
   * 利休 memorial day on 28 II, but it is usually celebrated in March

===道具===
   * Good time to use [[chawan|筒茶碗]].
   * Large [[kama|釜]], such as 面取釜（めんとり）, 雷声（らいせい）or 野溝（のみず）.
 
===掛け物===
   * 紅炉上一点雪　（こう　ろ　じょう　いってん　の　ゆき）. One snowflake on the hot embers. Meaning that on the hot embers of the Zen mind, all delusions will disappear without trace like a snowflake. 紅炉 seems also be good for a 茶杓.

===御名===
   * https://chanoyu.world/gomei/gomei-february/
   * http://urasenkechado.blogspot.com/2014/02/gomei-for-february.html
   * https://texaschanoyu.wordpress.com/gomei/march/
   * 袖の香, sode no ka, smell from kimono sleeve?

===点前===
  * [[dairo|大炉]]

===花===
   * 梅（うめ or ばい）, of course
   * Mittwer sais Sarishu and camellia Container: Korean glazed pottery with animal-shaped ears

{{ ::sarishu.png?400 |}}

   * Sen sais Red camellia in a gourd-shaped low Seto-ware container hung on the wall in the  tokonoma.

{{ ::february-camelia.png?400 |}}

===お菓子===
   * 紅梅（こうばい）(on the picture is 霜紅梅, which is dusted with frost)

{{ ::koubai.jpg?200 |}}

   * 未開紅（みかい　こう）, the unopened red

{{ ::mikaikou.jpg?200 |}}

   * 雪の梅, covered in white. Preferred by Ennousai.

   * 夜の梅, type of youkan in which large sweet beans are mixed in to hint at the smell of plums in the darkness.

{{ ::yorunoume.jpg?200 |}}

   * 鶯餅（うぐいす　もち）, looks like the bush warbler. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVFrguBJ48c&lc=UghG3LQ22adyhHgCoAEC|recipe]].

{{ ::uguisumochi.jpg?200 |}}

   * Sen's 主菓子 is //Umegoromo// (plum robe) sweets. In Japan, although trees may still be laden with snow, plum blossoms appear in February, holding the promise of spring. These sweets, decorated with a plum-blossom design, are made of rice dough with a filling of strained red-bean paste.

{{ ::umegoromo.png?400 |}}

   * His 干菓子 are //Otafuku// sweets. Ground soybeans and sugar are mixed and pressed into a mold to produce this image of a happy but plain-looking woman with enormous cheeks. She is traditionally called Otafuku. LOWER LEFT: Neji-ribo sweets. Sugar cakes are tinted and twisted to represent the pull ropes on bells at Shinto shrines.
February is the first month of the lunar new year, so congratulatory colors and symbols are once again used.

{{ ::otafuku.png?400 |}}