By Juan Villanueva | Big Stick Editor |
Looking at a calendar is a daily task for anyone. Perhaps an individual is spending their time looking for dates to mark on special occasions like anniversaries or birthdays. However, once the individual gets to February they begin to question why today, February ends in 28 days when every other month end in 30 or 31 days.
It all dates back to the Roman times. Before February or even January were known of, only March through December existed. The reason being that January and February were time during harsh winters and back then, time was not kept track of during then.
However, by 713 B.C. Numa Pompilius realized that having two months missing was not a great idea. To keep people from losing track of the date, January and February were then added at the end of the year. But, things still did not make sense and individuals still continued to be confused.
Finally, by 45 B.C. Julius Caesar changed the calendar once again, focusing on a solar cycle instead of the moon cycle for a year. Caesar added 10 days to make 365 days for a year in between 11 months, except February which stayed at 28 days.
Although simply a theory, it is speculated that February was kept the shortest because the Romans considered it unlucky. Perhaps it was because of the harsh weather where nothing could get done. No agriculture, no warmth, and no spending time outside. It goes to be ironic since today, February is usually a month related with purity, love, and happiness.