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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleap
years?

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JoshuaEngelRequestBio
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February(month)

Thehistoryofthecalendarisprettytangled.ItdatesbacktoRomantimes.The
Romancalendaroriginallyhadonly10months,beginningonMarch1.(That's
why"September"isnamedafter"7","October"after8,"November"after9,and
"December"after10.)AfterDecember,therewasjustalongwastelandthat
nobodyreallycaredabout.Intheearliestcalendars,thesewereprobably29
daylunarmonths,butthatgotstretchedoutto30and31daysovertime.

Calendars

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Thiswasjiggeredfurtheraround713BCEtoaddJanuaryandFebruary.
Februarywassupposedlyhanded28dayssothatitwouldbetheonlymonth
withanevennumberofdays,whiletheothersallhad29or31.Evennumbers
wereconsideredunlucky,butsomebodyhadtohaveone*mightaswellmake
ittheshortandunpleasantmonth.
ThecalendarwasfiddledwithstillfurtherunderJuliusCaesar,whoeliminated
theleapmonths(likewiththeJewishcalendar,theystillneededleapmonths
tokeepitalignedwiththesolaryear)andmadeFebruaryaleapyearmore
often.Thatlargelysettledthecalendar,thoughtheycontinuedtomake
changesforthenext1500yearsorsotogiveusthecalendarwehavetoday.
NobodyeverwantedtomakeFebruaryanylongersoitremainsat28days.

*Since12oddnumberswillalwaysadduptoanevennumber,butthenumber
ofdaysintheyearisodd.
Written9Feb,2013ViewUpvotes

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Greatquestion!Mylittlesisteraskedthistomerecently,Iwasamazedwith
thesimplicityofthequestion,butdidn'tknowtheansweraftersomereading,
hereismyefforttoanswerthequestion:
Beforecomingtoasolidanswer,itisimportanttounderstandthehistoryand
evolutionofthemoderncalendarthatwefollow.Itwasamessyaffairto
correct,shift,andpoliticizethecalendarittookcenturiestohavethecalendar
thatwehave.
Herewego...
https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

TheRomancalendarwhichwefollowhasitsoriginsbackinancientRome.It
changeditsformseveraltimesbetweenthefoundingofRomeandthefallof
theRomanEmpire.
Inthattime,theadventofSpringwasconsideredaharbingerofabeginning
thustheyearbackthenusedtostartwithMarchbeingitsfirstmonth.
Traditionallytherewereonly10monthsintheRomanCalendar.Roman
writersattributedtheoriginalRomancalendartoRomulus,thefounderof
Romearound753BC.TheRomuluscalendarhadtenmonthswiththespring
equinoxinthefirstmonth:
CalendarofRomulus
1. Martius(31days)
2. Aprilis(30days)
3. Maius(31days)
4. Iunius(30days)
5. Quintilis(31days)
6. Sextilis(30days)
7. Septembris(30days)
8. Octobris(31days)
9. Novembris(30days)
10. Decembris(30days)

Theregularcalendaryearconsistedof304days,withthewinterdaysafterthe
endofDecemberandbeforethebeginningofthefollowingMarchnotbeing
assignedtoanymonth,becausethewintertimewasn'timportantforthe
harvest.
Thenamesofatleastthreeofthefirstfourmonthswerenamedinhonorof
Romangods:MartiusinhonorofMarsMaiusinhonorofMaiaandIunius
inhonorofJuno.ThederivationofAprilisisuncertain.Thenamesofthe
monthsfromthefifthmonthonwerebasedontheirpositioninthecalendar:
QuintiliscomesfromLatinquinquemeaningfiveSextilisfromsexmeaning
sixSeptembrisfromseptemmeaningsevenOctobrisfromoctomeaningeight
NovembrisfromnovemmeaningnineandDecembrisfromdecemmeaning
ten.Thetenmonthsaddedto304days,whichlaterwascorrectedto354days
(astandardlunaryear)byKingNumaPompilius,thesemimythicalsuccessor
ofRomuluswhoaddedJanuaryandFebruarytothecalender.
Februaryremainedthelastmonthofthecalendaryearuntilthetimeofthe
decemvirs(c.450BC),whenitbecamethesecondmonth.Atcertainintervals
Februarywastruncatedto23or24daysanda27dayintercalarymonth,
Intercalaris,wasinsertedimmediatelyafterFebruarytorealigntheyearwith
theseasons.
UnderthereformsthatinstitutedtheJuliancalendar,Intercalariswas
abolished,leapyearsoccurredregularlyeveryfourthyear,andinleapyears
Februarygaineda29thday.Thereafter,itremainedthesecondmonthofthe
calendaryear,meaningtheorderthatmonthsaredisplayed(January,
February,March,...,December)withinayearataglancecalendar.Even
duringtheMiddleAges,whenthenumberedAnnoDominiyearbeganon
March25orDecember25,thesecondmonthwasFebruarywheneveralltwelve
monthsweredisplayedinorder.TheGregoriancalendarreformsmadeslight
changestothesystemfordeterminingwhichyearswereleapyearsandthus
containeda29dayFebruary.
Alternateexplanations:

https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

InancientRome,thenumber28wasconsideredevilandunlucky.Itmay
berelatedtothefactthatRomanshonoredthedeadandperformedrites
ofpurificationinFebruary.(Thewordfebruaremeans"topurify"inthe
dialectoftheancientSabinetribe.)
Anotherexplanationsays:SomehavespeculatedthatCaesaraddedaday
toFebruarywhenhereformedthecalendarmakingit29dayslong.The
storygoesthatwhentheSenaterenamedthemonthofSextilistohonor
theemperorAugustus,thatdaywassubtractedfromFebruaryandadded
toAugustinordertomakeitequalinnumbertoJulythemonthnamed
forCaesar.Butthistheoryisnowbelievedtobebunkit'slikelythatJulius
neverevenaddedadaytoFebruary.Here:WhydoesFebruaryhave28
dayswhiletheothermonthshave30or31?
Interestingasitmaysound,thereisacounterargumenttothistheory.
DEBUNKEDTHEORYONMONTHLENGTHS:
Sacrobosco'stheoryonmonthlengths
TheJulianreformsetthelengthsofthemonthstotheirmodernvalues.
However,a13thcenturyscholar,Sacrobosco,proposedadifferent
explanationforthelengthsofJulianmonthswhichisstillwidelyrepeated
butiscertainlywrong.
AccordingtoSacrobosco,themonthlengthsforordinaryyearsinthe
RomanRepublicancalendar,fromJanuarytoDecember,were:
30,29,30,29,30,29,30,29,30,29,30,29.
SacroboscothenthoughtthatJuliusCaesaraddedonedaytoeverymonth
exceptFebruary,atotalof11moredaystoregularmonths,givingthe
ordinaryJulianyearof365days.Asingleleapdaycouldnowbeaddedto
thisextrashortFebruary:
31,29/30,31,30,31,30,31,30,31,30,31,30.
HethensaidAugustuschangedthis,bytakingonedayfromFebruaryto
addittoSextilis,andthenmodifyingthealternationofthefollowing
months,to:
31,28/29,31,30,31,30,31,31,30,31,30,31
sothatthelengthofAugustus(August)wouldnotbeshorterthan(and
thereforeinferiorto)thelengthofIulius(July),givingustheirregular
monthlengthswhicharestillinuse.
Thereisabundantevidencedisprovingthistheory.First,awallpaintingofa
RomancalendarpredatingtheJulianreformhassurvived,whichconfirms
theliteraryaccountsthatthemonthswerealreadyirregularbeforeJulius
Caesarreformedthem,withanordinaryyearof355days,not354,with
monthlengthsarrangedas:
29,28,31,29,31,29,31,29,29,31,29,29.
Also,theJulianreformdidnotchangethedatesoftheNonesandIdes.In
particular,theIdeswerelate(onthe15thratherthan13th)inMarch,May,
JulyandOctober,showingthatthesemonthsalwayshad31daysinthe
Romancalendar,whereasSacrobosco'stheoryrequiresthatMarch,May
andJulywereoriginally30dayslongandthatthelengthofOctoberwas
changedfrom29to30daysbyCaesarandto31daysbyAugustus.Further,
Sacrobosco'stheoryisexplicitlycontradictedbythe3rdand5thcentury
authorsCensorinusandMacrobius,anditisinconsistentwithseasonal
lengthsgivenbyVarro,writingin37BC,beforeSextiliswasrenamedfor
https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

Augustusin8BC,withthe31daySextilisgivenbyanEgyptianpapyrus
from24BC,andwiththe28dayFebruaryshownintheFastiCaeretani,
whichisdatedbefore12BC.
Tosumitup,therehavebeenmany,manymodificationsintheRoman
Calendaroverthecourseoftime.Thechangesdemandedbytheneedoftime
gaveFebruaryitsnumberofdayseventhoughthereareothertheoriestoit,
theycanbespeculated.
OhFebruary!Thouartcomplicated!

REF:
Juliancalendar
February
Romancalendar
Written26Apr,2013ViewUpvotes

QuoraUser,CurrentCrackpot,AspiringMadScientist
1.7kViews

Okay,youknowhowseptmeansseven,octmeanseight,nonmeansnine,
anddecmeans10?SohowcomeSeptemberistheninthmonth,Octoberisthe
tenthmonth,Novemberisthe11thmonth,andDecemberisthe12thmonth?
Whyiseverythingoffbytwo?
Itdidn'tusetobethisway.Septemberwasoncetheseventhmonth,and
Decemberwasthetenthmonth(andeverythingelseinbetween),justliketheir
namesindicate.
ThentheCaesarscamealong.Theybothwantedtohavemonthsnamedafter
them.Ibetyoucanguesswhotheywere.
DidyouguessJuliusandAugustus?Yeah,thatwasaneasyone.
SowhenJulyandAugustgotinsertedintoourcalendar,thatskewedthe
numericallynamedmonthssotheywerenolongercorrectlynamed.
AndJuliuswasn'tabouttohavehismonthhavejust30days,sohestoleaday
fromFebruary,whichusedtohave30daysinthe(new)12monthcalendar.
AndAugustuswasn'tabouttohaveHISmonthhavefewerdaysthatJulius's
month,soJulyandAugustbothhadtohave31days.SoAugustusstoleaday
fromFebruary,too,shorteningitto28days.
SowhystealfromFebruary?BecauseFebruarysucks.NobodylikesFebruary.
RumorhasitthatneitherJuliusnorAugustuscelebratedValentine'sDay.And
theycouldn'tstealdaysfromDecember,orfutureDickenswouldhaveafit.
ButFebruarygotabitofcomeuppancewhenitwasawardedtheleapyear
day.
So,YayFebruary!
Itstillsucks,though.StupidFebruary.That'swhenmysister'sbirthdayis.Why
couldn'ttheCaesarsstealthatday?
Written28May,2014ViewUpvotes

LeoPeo,indebted
6.3kViews

Ishouldknowthisanswerasiwasbornon29thfebruary.
Therearetwolegendsfortheanswertothesequestions.
CalendarofRomulus:
https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

1. Martius31Days
2. Aprilis30Days
3. Maius31Days
4. Iunius30Days
5. Quintilis31Days
6. Sextilis30Days
7. September30Days
8. October31Days
9. November30Days
10. December30Days
Legendone
hasitthattheRomanswerethefirstonestomakeupacalendar.Their
calendarisverysimilartotheoneweusetoday,exceptthefirstones
supposedlydidn'tevenincludethemonthofFebruary.Infact,thefirstones
actuallyonlyincludedtenmonthswhichaddedupto304days.
Thislegendgoesontosay,thatKingNumaPompiliuswastheonewhoadded
themonthsofJanuaryandFebruary.Buteventhentheyearonlyaddedupto
355daysand12lunarcycles.Thismadethesolaryearstillshortby10to11
days.TohelprectifythesituationKingPompiliusthenaddedthemonththat
wasknownasMercedinus.
CommonYearNumberofdaysLeapYearNumberofdays
Ianuarius29Ianuarius29
Februarius28Februarius23/24
Martius31Intercalaris27/28
Aprilis29Martius31
Maius31Aprilis29
Iunius29Maius31
Quintilis31Iunius29
Sextilis29Quintilis31
September29Sextilis29
October31September29
November29October31
December29November29
December29
Thisnewcalendarwascloserthanthefirstone.Butitstilldidn'tworkperfectly
withthelunarcycle.JuliusCaesardecidedtoignorethecalendar.Hegotridof
themonthofMercedinus.HealsogaveFebruary28daysexceptforeveryfour
yearsinwhichitwouldhavetwentyninedays.Thus,thiscalendarexactly
madeupof365and1/4days.
ThisiswhythecalendarweusedtodayisoftenreferredtoastheJulian
Calendar.Itisbasicallythesamecalendar,withafewminoradjustments.

Legendtwo
statesthatthereasonwhyFebruaryhasonly28daysisbecauseofjealousy.
SomebelievethatAugustusCaesarwasjealousbecausehisbirthdayfellinthe
https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

monthofAugust(whichonlyhad30daysbackthen)whileJuliusCaesarwas
borninJulyandhisbirthmonthhad31days.SoAugustatookonedayfrom
themonthofFebruaryandaddeditontoAugust.ThatleftFebruarywithonly
28days,exceptforleapyear.
Interestingbit,wasthattherewasaproposaltochangeourcalendaronce
again.Thisproposedchangeifeverintroducedwouldgiveus13monthsand
eachmonthwouldhave28days.Thiswouldmeanayearwouldequal364
daysandoneextraday,twoinleapyear.
Yet,itisdoubtfulifthisproposedchangewilleverhappen.Mathisnotthe
centerpointofourcalendar,itneverhasbeenandprobablyneverwillbethe
centerpoint.Ourcultureandourreligiousbeliefsstillhousemanybeliefsthat
isengravedbylunarsolarroots(takeastrologyforinstance).
Doyouknowwhatwasthemainpurposeourancestorshadforinventingthe
calendar?Theyuseditasameanstohelpwiththeirfarming.Theyneededto
markwhichdayswerethebestforplanningcertaincrops.
Maybeitdoesn'treallymatterwhatthereasoningastowhyFebruarybecame
theshortestmonthoftheyearis.Becauseaslongaswedon'tknowforsure,we
canenjoyallthelegendsbehindthisshort,butmaybemosttalkedabout
monthoftheyear.
Written11Feb,2013ViewUpvotes

GopalPartani,Conciliatoryasshole.
1.5kViews

TheveryfactthatFebruaryhas28daysbecause2daysweretakenfromitto
adjusttheothermonthsofthecalenderhasmadeusfollowitsinceandno
changeshavebeenmade.
Inthe8thcenturyBCtheCalenderofRomuluswasusedwhichcontainedonly
tenmonthsnamely:
Martius31days
Aprilius30days
Maius]31days
Junius30days
Quintilis31days
Sextilis30days
September30days
October31days
November30days
December30days
TheyearkickstartedfromMarchandendedatDecember.Januaryand
Februarydidnotevenexistbackthen.Ifyouaddupthosenumbersit
sumstotaltoonly304days.Thesearethedayswhichwererelevantforthe
farmersandotherharvestersandwinterbackthenwasnamelessanduseless
sotheydidn'tcaretocountit.
NowaccordingtothelegendsJuliusCaesarwantedamonthnamedafterhim
forwhichpeoplewouldrememberhimforalongtime.SohecreatedJulywith
31dayswith1daypulledoutofFebruary.AndwhenAugustusCaesartook
overtheRomanEmpirehenamedAugustafterhimagainwith31daysthus
pullingoffanotherdayfromFebruarysinceitwastheendoftheyear.
ManyhistoriansdonotbelieveintheselegendsandtheybelievethatFebruary
alwayshad28dayssincethetimeofkingNumaPompilius.KingNuma
Pompiliusthoughtitwasstupidtomissouton1/6thoftheyear.Soin713BC
helinedthecalenderupwithyear's12lunarcycleswithaspanof355days
addingJanuaryandFebruary,withFebruarybeingthelastmonth.Backthen
evennumberswereconsideredunluckysohecreated7monthswith29days
https://www.quora.com/WhydoesFebruaryhave28daysWhy29inleapyears

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10/1/2015

WhydoesFebruaryhave28days?Why29inleapyears?Quora

and4monthswith31daysandtomakeit355daysheneededamonthwith
evennumbersohechoseFebruary,asitwasconsideredastheleastfavourite
monthforitarrivedinthemiddleofthewinter.Andhence28days.

Andnowwhycan'twechangeit?Becausewedon'thavesomecrazy
superstitioushighlyegoisticrulerswhoruletheWHOLEWORLD.Wecan't
makethewholeworldfollowthechangewewantjustforourconvenience.If
peoplemakechangesaccordingtotheirwillthentherewillbeutterchaos
aroundtheglobebecausenostandardsystemwillbefollowed.Thusjustified.
Written14Mar,2014ViewUpvotes

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