In Graphics | Why February is the shortest month in the calendar

Why is February so short? Why are there only 28 days? Back in ancient Roman times, they had this calendar that was all about lunar cycles. They divided the year into 10 months, leaving the early part unnamed because, well, nothing important happened then. No planting, no harvesting. Then along comes King Numa Pompilius, and he added January and February to make the calendar cover the whole shebang. But here’s the catch – the Romans were superstitious about even numbers, thinking they brought bad luck. So, months had either 29 or 31 days, never 30, to keep things odd and hopefully luckier. Now, February, being the month of honouring the deceased, gets stuck with 28 days. Fast forward to Julius Caesar, who revamped the calendar to vibe with the Sun rather than the moon. Then, Pope Gregory XIII had his two cents in 1583, polishing it up into the familiar Gregorian calendar we roll with today. Despite all these calendar makeovers, February held onto its 28-day quirkiness. Except for Leap Years, when it gets a bonus day.