Later February Holiday Resources
So here are the rest of the resources for February, including a LOT of Valentine's Day resources! In addition, other events include Mardi Gras, the start of Lunar New Year, President's Day, and even a couple of resources for Groundhog Day (which I should have included in the last one).
Jay LeBlanc
1/31/20265 min read
Let’s start with . . . valentines for economists, https://www.fosslien.com/heart
Government Resources for Later February "Holidays":
“American Heart Month, February” Stats for Stories, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/american-heart-month.html
“The Great Debate: Is it ‘Presidents’ Day’—or ‘Washington’s Birthday?’”, National Archives, Feb 2018, https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/articles/great-debate-presidents-day-washingtons-birthday/
“Lunar New Year” Stats for Stories, Jan 2025, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/lunar-new-year.html
“Mardi Gras” Stats for Stories, Feb 2024, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/mardi-gras.html
“Presidents’ Day” Stats for Stories, Feb 2024, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/presidents-day.html
Primary Source Set on Abraham Lincoln resources, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/abraham-lincoln/
Primary Source Set on George Washington resources, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/george-washington-first-in-war-first-in-peace-and-first-in-the-hearts-of-his-countrymen/
“U.S. Inaugurations – A Resource Guide”, Library of Congress, https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-inaugurations
“Valentine’s Day Fun Facts”, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/fun-facts/valentines.html , updated for Feb 2024
“Valentine’s Day” Stats for Stories, Feb 2024, U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/valentines-day.html
“Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln: Three Great Presidents” (primary source set), Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/washington-jefferson-and-lincoln-three-great-presidents/
Later February "Holiday" Lesson Plans and Blog Articles:
“Cash and Cupid: A Valentine's Day Word Search”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2024, https://www.ngpf.org/blog/curriculum-announcements/cash-and-cupid-a-valentines-day-word-search/ and https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iZDJaV_uCbm_XgwbRAmxSUynGL0izcspw5ZM2bNWV4c/edit
“An Economic Lesson for Valentine’s Day”, Monday Morning Economist, Feb 2022, https://www.mondayeconomist.com/p/an-economic-lesson-for-valentines
“Fincap Friday: The Business of Love”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRmq8zVPD0&t=1s (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-the-business-of-love/ (blog article)
“Fincap Friday: Romance and Finance”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2YlTk4KmyI (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-romance--finance/ (blog article)
“Fincap Friday: Save a Dime on Valentine's”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQHbg2_Bsrg (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-save-a-dime-on-valentines/ (blog article)
“How Valentine’s Became a Chocolate and Card Day”, Econlife, Feb 2023, https://econlife.com/2023/02/valentines-day-history/
“I, Rose Lecture Plan”, Marginal Revolution University (MRU), https://mru.org/teacher-resources/price-system-invisible-hand-lecture-plan
“Presidents’ Day Activities & Lesson Plans”, iCivics, https://vision.icivics.org/presidents-day-activities-lesson-plans/
“Presidents’ Day Lesson Plans”, Center for Civic Education, https://www.civiced.org/lesson-plans/presidents-day-lessons
“Question of the Day: (Updated): How much did 18-24 year olds expect to spend on Valentine's Day?”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2021, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dmfUcukb7HQgjaNmn-fJm1_rqWfkO2uKNtK3KUIPkqM/edit#slide=id.p (lesson) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-updated-how-much-did-18-24-year-olds-expect-to-spend-on-valentines-day/ (blog article w/links)
“Question of the Day: What are the top five gifts consumers plan to give for Valentine's Day?”, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2025, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nskLcskG55gFkfcV0wY77clQk0Tuh9CZDOwHiWmsvPc/edit?slide=id.p#slide=id.p (lesson) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-updated-in-2022-how-much-did-18-24-year-olds-expect-to-spend-on-valentines-day/ (blog article w/links)
“Sneak Peek of FinCap Friday: Tim and Yanely discuss expectations for Valentine's Day spending in 2023” (podcast), NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF), Feb 2023, https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/sneak-peek-of-fincap-friday-tim-and-yanely-discuss-expectations-for-valentines-day-spending-in-2023/
“Valentine’s Day Capital Resources Activity”, EconEdLink (from the Council for Economic Education), Jan 2026, https://econedlink.org/resources/valentines-day-resources/
“Valentine's Day Edition: Change in Demand vs. Change in Quantity Demanded Interactive Practice”, Marginal Revolution University (MRU), https://mru.org/teacher-resources/active-learning/valentines-day-edition-change-demand-vs-change-quantity-demanded
“Valentine’s Day Greeting Card Production for 7-12”, EconEdLink (from the Council for Economic Education), Jan 2024, https://econedlink.org/resources/valentines-day-greeting-card-production/
“Valentine’s Day Resources for K-6”, EconEdLink (from the Council for Economic Education), Jan 2024, https://econedlink.org/resources/valentines-day-resources/
“What an Economist Might Say on Valentine’s Day”, Econlife, Feb 2023, https://econlife.com/2023/02/economic-valentines-2/
“What We Expect From Online Dating”, Econlife, Feb 2023, https://econlife.com/2023/02/dating-markets/
“Why We Want the Valentine’s Candy We Never Liked”, Econlife, Feb 2023, https://econlife.com/2023/02/valentines-day-candy-hearts/
Other general ECON/PFL/Social Studies articles on Later February “holidays”:
“20,000 roses, inflation and night terrors: the life of a florist on Valentine's Day”, NPR, Feb 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156732621/20-000-roses-inflation-and-night-terrors-the-life-of-a-florist-on-valentines-day
“8 Fun White House Decorating Stories to Roll Out Presidents Day Weekend”, Wall Street Journal, Feb 2025, https://www.wsj.com/style/design/white-house-decorating-fun-facts-389745ae
“America’s most-Googled romantic comedies, in one map”, VOX.com, Feb 2019, https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/2/14/18221779/most-searched-popular-romantic-comedies-movies-50-states-map
“Apparently, love does have a price. It's $25.9 billion”, NPR, Feb 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156956098/how-much-valentines-inflation-spending-supply-roses-gift-survey-26-billion
“Chinese New Year 2025: Marketing & Campaign Ideas”, The Content Architects, Jan 2024, https://thecontentarchitects.com/chinese-new-year-marketing-ideas/
“Chinese New Year and its Impact on Global Supply Chain”, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, Jan 2025, https://ctl.mit.edu/news/chinese-new-year-and-its-impact-global-supply-chain
“Economic hardship affects Lunar New Year celebrations in China”, Voice of America Asia, Jan 2025, https://www.voanews.com/a/economic-hardship-affects-lunar-new-year-celebrations-in-china/7956877.html
“The Economics of Chinese New Year”, Etonomics, Mar 2025, https://etonomics.com/2025/03/22/the-economics-of-chinese-new-year/
“Financial Losses From Romance Scams Add Up” (podcast), Marketplace, Feb 2023, https://www.marketplace.org/2023/02/14/financial-losses-from-romance-scams-add-up/
“Groundhog Day History”, Visit Pennsylvania, Jan 2026, https://www.visitpa.com/blog/post/history-groundhog-day/
“Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney’s Million Dollar Holiday”, Time Magazine, Feb 2014, https://nation.time.com/2014/02/01/groundhog-day-punxsutawney/
“How Dating Apps Find Your Next Valentine”, Wall Street Journal, Feb 2023, https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/tech-news-briefing/how-dating-apps-find-your-next-valentine/ca8e112f-f3ab-4c22-8665-d32d8fa872d3 (podcast version w/transcript) or https://www.wsj.com/video/series/tech-news-briefing/how-dating-apps-find-your-next-valentine/3AF9CC0C-1717-41A2-8377-87719DE18714 (video version)
“How One President’s Day Became Presidents’ Day”, New York Times, Feb 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/presidents-day-lincoln-washington.html
“How Presidents Day turned from reverence to retail”, PBS News, Feb 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/how-presidents-day-turned-from-reverence-to-retail
“In China, Lunar New Year celebrations subdued as U.S. tariffs cast a shadow” (podcast), NPR Morning Edition, Feb 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5280064/in-china-lunar-new-year-celebrations-subdued-as-u-s-tariffs-cast-a-shadow
“Lunar New Year 2026”, History Channel, updated Jan 2026, https://www.history.com/articles/chinese-new-year
“Mardi Gras 2026”, History Channel, updated Jan 2026, https://www.history.com/articles/mardi-gras
“The Most Romantic Money Moves You Can Make”, NerdWallet, Feb 2022, https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/the-most-romantic-money-moves-you-can-make
“See the Valentine’s Day Cards That Changed How Americans Express Their Love”, Time Magazine, Feb 2017, https://time.com/4663003/esther-howland-valentines/
“The Ultimate Mardi Gras Guide (Tuesday, February 17, 2026)”, NewOrleans.com (official tourism site), Jan 2026, https://www.neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/mardi-gras/the-ultimate-mardi-gras-guide/
“Valentine’s Day – Holiday and Shopping Trends”, National Retail Federation, Jan 2025, https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/valentines-day
“Valentine’s Day Shopping Statistics”, Capital One Shopping Research, Jan 2026, https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/valentines-day-shopping-statistics/
“Why Your Valentine’s Chocolate Is Getting More Expensive”, Wall Street Journal, Feb 2025, https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/valentines-why-chocolate-more-expensive-58753a66
“Will Trump's tariffs affect Mardi Gras throws this year? Here's what New Orleans krewes say”, NOLA.com, Jan 2026, https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/mardi_gras/china-tariff-mardi-gras-2026/article_85203df6-53c5-4335-ac6a-7228106f33dd.amp.html
“Your Valentine’s Day bouquet probably came a long way” (podcast), Marketplace, Feb 2025, https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/02/12/valentines-day-bouquet-flowers-supply-chain
And one final holiday I will NOT repeat – Tooth Fairy Day occurs TWICE each year (Feb 28th and Aug 22nd) to remind people to visit their dentist twice a year. Since I did a blog post on it back in late August 2025, I will simply point you back that direction rather than repeat items here . . .