Why is February So Short?
I thought this little article on Slate was interesting. The shortness of February has always been a curiosity to me, as logically it would make more sense to take a day off two of the months that have 31 days and make each of those months be 30 days. But that’s not the way it is.
The length of February apparently goes back to Roman times. January and February were added on later than the other months. The calendar was based on the lunar year at the time, and so fell behind regularly. It wasn’t until Julius Caesar ordered it changed to the solar year that the current 365 day calendar with a leap year every 4 years came into being.
I love little bits of trivia like this. It’s just interesting seeing how some oddities come into being.
Technorati Tags: February, calendar, length of year
