Why does February have fewer days than all other months?

The Council of Trent took over the adjustment of the Julian calendar. This adaptation was suggested by the Neapolitan physician Aloisius Lilius. This proposed calendar reform was implemented in 1582 and was then called the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar, which is also used in the Netherlands, has twelve months. Seven months of this Gregorian calendar count 31 days. Four months of the year have to do with a total of 30 days. In addition, there is another month with 28 days. This concerns the month of February. Once every four years, the month of February can count itself rich with an extra day.

The month of February

February, also called gathering month or leap month, is the second month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. The name February comes from the Roman god February. February was seen as the god of the purification / underworld. For the ancient Romans, February was therefore the month of the great cleansing and penance.

Amount of days

Unlike the other eleven months of the year, February doesn't have 30 or 31 days. The month of February has 28 days. However, with the exception of the so-called leap years. When it comes to a leap year, the month of February has an extra day. In the leap year, the month of February does not have 28 days, but a total number of 29 days.

Leap years

Originally, a calendar year was not 365, but 304 days. These 304 days were spread over ten months. The year then began with the first day of spring. The first day of spring was then on March 1. The year then ran from March 1 and ended with the last day of December. So the months of January and February did not yet exist at the time. It was then assumed that the winter period could still be regarded as a monthless period.

The extra calendar day

The months of January and February were added to the calendar by a Roman King in the eighth century BC. This brought the total number of calendar days of the year to a total of 354/355. This changed in 47 BC when Emperor Julius Caesar made a clean sweep. According to the new Julian calendar, a year should have counted 365 calendar days. At the same time, Julius Caesar then introduced the so-called leap year. This was done by Julius Caesar because a year actually lasts 365.25 days. 365.25 days is the time during which the earth revolves around the sun. That is why an extra day had to be added once every four years. It was decided to take the year that is divisible by four. By this rule, each year that is split bale by four has a 29-day month of February. 

The years,

All months of the year have 30 or 31 days. Except the month of February. This is because Julius Caesar appropriated the fifth month of the old calendar. The month, originally called quntilus, was then renamed julius. Now called July. The Roman emperor Augustus felt that, like Julius Caesar, he was entitled to a month of his own. August therefore appropriated the eighth month of the calendar year. As a result, the eighth month was named August. Moreover, Augustus felt that his month should last as long as that of Julius Caesar. The day that came short of the month of August was therefore "stolen" from the month of February by Emperor Augustus. The month of February, which with its 29 days was already the shortest month of the calendar year, was therefore given 28 days.

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