Did you know that February is the shortest month of the year at only 28 days? This is actually due to the ancient Romans who lived almost 1,500 years ago. While everyone currently follows the Gregorian calendar, this occurred long before the Roman Calendar was used.

“I didn’t realize there was a Roman calendar that was used before the Gregorian calendar. I find that really interesting, and I wonder what our lives would be like if we still followed that calendar today,” shared sophomore Victoria Caicedo.

The Roman calendar originally consisted of 10 months but then later expanded to 12 when January and February were added. The Romans believed even numbers to be unlucky, but unfortunately to add up to 365 days, at least one month would need to have an unlucky number of days. The month they chose to have an uneven number of days was February, as it was the month dedicated to honoring the dead. Their reasoning was that death was the biggest form of bad luck, so they figured it was fitting for February to be the month with an uneven number of days.

“I wasn’t aware that there was so much interesting history behind the month of February and why it’s the shortest. I honestly think it’s a great backstory that more people should know about and learn,” shared sophomore Maria Alonso.

Not only is February a short month, but it also includes a leap year every four years, adding an extra day and making it 29 days long that year. What’s even more interesting is that people born on February 29th only celebrate their birthday every four years.

“I actually knew someone whose birthday was on a leap year and they celebrated their birthday on the 28th most years. It’s funny to think that their actual birthday only happens every four years,” shared sophomore Maria Nordholz.