Jouree Kelly, age 14, of Siloam Springs, Ark., for her question:
WHY DOES FEBRUARY HAVE SO FEW DAYS?
Here’s an old saying: “Thirty days hath September, April, June and November; All the rest have thirty one, Excepting February alone, which hath but twenty eight in fine, Till leap year gives it twenty nine.” And here’s another saying: “Thirty days hath September, All the rest I can’t remember; There’s a calendar on the wall, So why bother me at all?”
When the first Roman Calendar was made, it had only 10 months. There was no February included at that time.
Two additional months were added by Numa Pompilius, with February named as the last month of the year. The name came from the Latin Februarius, which meant to purify. And that’s just what happened: the Romans purified themselves during February to prepare themselves for the festivals that were always held at the start of every new year.
A bit later in time Julius Caesar moved the beginning of the year from March to January, making February the second month of the year.
As you know, February now has 28 days, with an extra day—making it 29 for the month—added every four years. February had 29 days in 1976 and will have that number again in 1980.
Julius Caesar did another funny thing to February. At that time February had 30 days, but he took one day off and added it to the month named after him: July.
After that Emperor Augustus thought the month named after him, August, should have 31 days instead of 30, so he took another day away from February, leaving only 28.
The second day of the second month is called Groundhog Day. Legends say that when the groundhog, or woodchuck as he is called in some sections, comes out of the ground on that day, he can determine whether winter is over or not. If the groundhog meets a sunny sky on Feb. 2, he will see his own shadow and be frightened. He will then return to the ground, and we can expect six more weeks of winter. If it is an overcast day, the groundhog will not see his shadow and will then start his springtime activities.
Another important February holiday is Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. It’s a nice day to exchange greetings of love.
Do you pronounce the second month’s name correctly? Too many people, unfortunately say Feb YOU ary. And that’s wrong. There’s an important “ R “ in the middle of the word. The correct way to say the name of the month is Feb RUE ary.
Two of our most famous Presidents, Washington and Lincoln, were born in February.