February Treated With Disdain in Ancient Times

Which month has 28 days? They all do. February has 28 days every three out of four years and gets an added day during leap years. That added day helps correct the 365-day year that is slightly less than 365.25 days long when the earth completes its annual trip around the sun.

Ancient Romans, a superstitious society, thought February was an unlucky month. It was perceived to be bad luck because it was the shortest month, and it came in cold weather. February originally was at the end of the year. That placed it in the coldest part of winter, where it was both uncomfortable and unproductive for the agrarian Roman society.

The shortest month was put at the end of the year when Roman Emperor Numa Pompilius added January and February as the 11th and 12th months in circa 700 B.C. Until then the Roman calendar had 10 months that totaled 304 days. Pompilius wanted the year to consist of a 12-month lunar cycle to better match the planting and harvesting cycles. His year was 355 days long. It was more accurate but obviously allowed for inaccuracies as the seasons and months still misaligned over time.

The emperor selected 28 days for the disliked month of February to get the number of days in the year to more or less match the lunar cycle. Most of Europe used the Pompilius calendar for about 654 years until Julius Caesar invented his calendar.

It’s called the Julian calendar after Caesar who finished it in 46 B.C. It consisted of 365 days and 12 months. He moved January and February to the first and second months of the year. Caesar’s was the most accurate calendar to date and lasted for more than one thousand years after it became the standard in 45 B.C. He was assassinated the following year on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.

Caesar’s genius in computing the most accurate calendar of its day was in his use of a leap year that added one day to February every four years. That added day compensated for the 1/4th day that gets added each year.

Since the earth’s year is not quite 365.25 days, inaccuracies from previous and Julius Caesar’s calendars kept building up until the current Gregorian calendar was accepted worldwide. Also called the Western and Christian calendar, it was started in 1582 after 10 days were dropped from October of that year. The lost days brought the new calendar into accurate alignment with the earth’s orbit to within 1 day every 3,231 years.

Superstitions about February 29th started shortly after the Julian calendar became accepted as the best one to use. One myth was counter to the Roman belief that the second month was unlucky. People began to believe that it was a lucky omen to begin any endeavor or business action on February 29th. Such actions, they believed, would guarantee success to the originator. The good luck extended through the whole month of February in a leap year.

Many societies believed that women seeking a husband could ask a bachelor of their choice on February 29th to marry them without causing any social reprimands. The superstition could extend for the entire leap year. Bachelors who were selected by single women for marriage could be legally fined money and/or gifts if they refused the proposals.

February started as a month disliked by Roman citizens more than 2,700 years ago. Myths associated with it today give it meanings of love and success.

Thanks for taking time to read about our shortest month. Come back to this space at the first part of March for another interesting subject. Read my website at www.joevlatino.com for information about “The Device," my book of short stories that can be found on Amazon.