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Subject: Leap Day Question - what's with the extra day?
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hvaldez
Posts:107
02/28/2008 12:01 PM Alert 

Assuming you've read the 2/29 Community Connections Update, do you know why there is an extra day in February, making it 29 days rather than 28 (vs. say having a 31st day in a typical 30-day month)?  
jeff.roberts
Posts:1
02/28/2008 4:28 PM Alert 
I think it's because the Roman calendar added a leap day to the end of the year every 4 years, and February was the last month of the Roman calendar. So have a Happy Leap Day...
pspakoski
Posts:1
02/29/2008 12:37 PM Alert 
The shortest month of the year seems to have gone by in a flash. Why does February have only 28 days?

It's the Romans' fault. Our modern calendar is loosely based on their old, confusing one. Though records on the Roman calendar are sparse and sketchy, legend has it that Romulus, the first king of Rome, devised a 10-month lunar calendar that began at the spring equinox in March and ended with December. It is unclear whether there were any official months between December and March, but it's likely they were left off because the wintertime wasn't important for the harvest.

The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, decided to make the calendar more accurate by syncing it up with the actual lunar year—which is about 354 days long. Numa tacked on two months—January and February—after December to account for the new days.

hvaldez
Posts:107
03/03/2008 12:50 PM Alert 
Very interesting...thanks Patty & Jeff for the explanation. Much appreciated.
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