Historians Explain That February Has 28 Days Because of Roman Superstition

Long ago, the way people measured time was deeply influenced by both practicality and belief in luck. In the early days of Rome, the calendar was very different from what we use today. Originally, the Roman calendar had only 10 months, leaving a gap during the winter months. To better reflect the cycles of the moon and to create a more complete record of the year, the legendary King Numa Pompilius added two months—January and February—to the calendar. However, this was not done solely to account for missing days; it was also influenced by the Romans’ belief that even numbers were unlucky.

To avoid the misfortune associated with even numbers, Numa carefully restructured the days in each month. Many of the original months had 30 days, but he reduced these by one to make them 29 days long, because odd numbers were considered more favorable. This adjustment was a clever attempt to blend the requirements of an accurate calendar with the superstitions that permeated Roman society. Yet, mathematics posed a challenge: when you add an even number of odd numbers together (since there were 12 months in the new calendar), the result is an even total. Numa wanted the overall count of days in the year to be odd, a belief rooted in the idea that odd numbers were inherently lucky.

Faced with this dilemma, Numa had to choose one month that would break the pattern. Since February was already linked to rituals honoring the dead—a period often associated with somber traditions—he selected it to carry the even number of days. As a result, February was assigned only 28 days in common years, while the other months received an odd number of days. Even as the calendar evolved over centuries and incorporated further refinements such as the leap day to keep in step with the solar year, February’s short length remained unchanged.

This blend of cultural superstition and practical necessity is why, even today, February stands apart as the month with the fewest days. The story of its creation serves as a vivid reminder that our modern timekeeping practices are deeply rooted in ancient traditions and beliefs, illustrating how the past continues to shape our present in unexpected ways.