Why is the month of february short

King Numa Pompilius thought that was stupid. The months were added to the end of the calendar, making February the last month of the year. But no Roman calendar would be complete without some good old-fashioned superstition mixed in!

The Romans believed even numbers were unlucky, so Numa tried to make each month odd. But to reach the quota of , one month had to be even. February ended up pulling the short stick, probably because it was simply the last month on the list. Martius: 31 days Aprilius: 29 days Maius: 31 days Iunius: 29 days Quintilis: 31 days Sextilis: 29 days September: 29 days October: 31 days November: 29 days December: 29 days Ianuarius: 29 days Februarius: 28 days.

Mercury in the morning : On February 16, Mercury appears at its farthest distance from the Sun in the morning sky. You can find it easily with our Interactive Night Sky Map. See all events in the Cosmic Calendar. The official groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, lives near the city of Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania. When he emerges from his burrow on February 2, his behavior is said to predict the change of seasons : If he immediately returns to his burrow, six more weeks of winter will follow.

Otherwise, spring is on the way. The tradition goes back to German immigrants settling in Pennsylvania. A field of barley — a crop favourite of Ancient Rome. Photo by michieru licensed CC BY 2.

Farming was a big deal in ancient Rome. Roman farmers harvested wheat, spelt and barley which were basically all the ingredients to make their favourite food, bread! The calendar year began in March and ended in December. Everything else was just called winter! An agenda with pages open on the months of January and February.

Image courtesy of Pixabay. However, with the calendar only being 10 months long, it began to fall out of sync with the Lunar calendar which tracked the phases of the moon.

In 45 B. The Julian Calendar added a little more than 10 days to each year, making each month either 30 or 31 days long, except for February. To account for the entire Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why? Catch up on all of the past "Whys" on Pinterest or on the blog! Mask Policy Update: Masks are required indoors for all visitors ages 2 and older. Currently logged out.

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