Why Does February Only Have 28 Days?

Why Does February Only Have 28 Days?

Why does February have 28 days when all the other months get 30 or 31? The answer is part superstition, part politics, and parts astronomy. (Basically, it’s the Romans’ fault)

Because Romans believed even numbers to be unlucky, each month had an odd number of days, which alternated between 29 and 31. But, in order to reach 355 days, one month had to be an even number. February was chosen to be the unlucky month with 28 days.

Why does February have 29 days every 4 years?

Why Are Leap Years Necessary? Adding an extra day every four years keeps our calendar aligned correctly with the astronomical seasons, since a year according to the Gregorian calendar (365 days) and a year according to Earth’s orbit around the Sun (approximately 365.25 days) are not the exact same length of time.

Did February ever have 30 days?

Today, the month of February has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years. But February 30 has been a real date at least twice in history. February 30 happened in Sweden in 1712.

When did February only have 28 days?

February was established as a 28-day month by the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. Prior to this, the first king of Rome – Romulus – did not count the days of January and February in the year’s calendar as he felt they were unimportant because they didn’t produce any harvest.