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
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
侘び poem about the grasses.
利休 memorial day on 28 II, but it is usually celebrated in March
道具
-
Large
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
点前
花
お菓子
鶯餅(うぐいす もち), looks like the bush warbler.
recipe.
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.
February is the first month of the lunar new year, so congratulatory colors and symbols are once again used.