None of us can deny that we enjoy some months more than others. In the case of February, some consider it the grayest and most boring month of the year, but others find a charm, almost magical, in its short duration. Yes, February is a special month because it ends earlier; an experience that we all live, but that we do not always understand. That is why in Supercurious We will tell you why February has 28 days. So, if you want to get out of the doubt, do not hesitate to continue with us throughout this article.
Everything has a reason… or several! Why does February have 28 days?
It was all a matter of calculation for the Romans
It is worth noting that the second month of the year is the shortest month and also the most atypical. In general, February is the month with the fewest days, but the number of these varies depending on the year, which is why in some years February has 28 days, while in others (less frequent) it has 29.
With this clear, we can go on to identify those milestones that will lead us to answer why February has 28 days. The first thing we must do is travel to ancient Rome, more specifically to the Rome of the 8th century, BC. The Romans of the time understood the year through the Romulus calendar. This calendar contained only 10 months of 31 days, leaving out January and February. It started in March (coinciding with the spring equinox) and ended in December. It only had 304 days because in January and February the most difficult temperatures were presented for work in the fields, which was what sustained the economy.
Over time, the Romans realized that not counting the first days of the year implied practical complications, in addition to not aligning with the lunar calendar. Because of this, in the first instance, they decided to align the calendar with the phases of the moon. In this way, yese completed 355 days of the year and the months of January and February were introduced. Here the answers to why February has 28 days begin to emerge.
However, for the Romans, odd numbers brought bad luck. So, to prevent the days of the year from being odd and to be able to align with the phases of the moon, They decided that February would only have 28 days. But the solution did not last long because it was determined that the length of the year should be determined with the sun, which implied more days and a few more hours for everything to agree.
In the end, Julio Cesar had the answer
Due to the confusion generated with the previous calendar, Julius Caesar, a great admirer of the Egyptians and their knowledge, ordered the elaboration of a new calendar to Sosigenes of Alexandria, trying to overcome the calendar gap that already existed. He was the big driver of why February has 28 days.
With the solar calendar proposed by Julius Caesar, the annual duration was set at 365 days and 6 hours. The 11 extra days were distributed among the months, which went from 29 and 30 to 30 and 31, except for February, which was left out of the distribution because it was the last, with only 28 days. Now, so that the additional hours do not accumulate, decided to intercalate an extra day every 4 years, what we know as leap years, in which the year has 366 days.
According to some other theories, the power of the emperors took place in the decision on why February has 28 days. Julius Caesar had the opportunity to choose a month and put his name on it, and chose the quintile, which was renamed Julius in his honor. Octavio Augusto, once ascended to power, named the month of sextile as Augustus (August), and since it was only 30 days old, and July 31, decided to take a day off the last month of the year (February) not to be less than its predecessor. Now, there is no evidence to support this legend of the origin of the calendar, despite the fact that it is collected in many articles and essays on the subject.
Some lags continued: Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar
This is a very interesting topic, because the Julian year of 365 days and 6 hours was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the astronomical year, which again caused errors and time lags. At the end of the sixteenth century, the dates had shifted by plus or minus 10 days, beginning fall on September 11.
To correct this error, Pope Gregory XIII, by pontifical decree of March 1582, he abolished the Julian calendar and imposed a new one, known as the Gregorian. The date was “arbitrarily” changed so that the equinoxes coincided again on March 21 and September 23. For this reason, this lag of 10 days became known as “the days that did not exist”, since September 11 was passed to the 21st of the same month and year, without further ado.
Due to the change, some leap years were cancelled. Since then, years are leap years if they are divisible by 4.unless they end in two 00s (except 1700, 1800 1900, or 4000, 8000, or 16000).
The Gregorian calendar has a discrepancy of one day every 3,323 years, which makes it a very accurate and useful instrument for measuring the astronomical year.
Thus we come to the end of our article on why February has 28 days! We hope that some of your doubts were resolved. Before you go, do not hesitate to tell us what you find most interesting about this story and if you know of any other relevant information about it. We’ll be waiting for you!