Why February month has the least number of days?

            February being the second month of the year, has the least number of days. How was February chosen to have the least number of days?

The present day calendar which is used worldwide today, is called the Julian calendar. The original calendar has the same 12 months and 365 days a year and 366 days for a leap year. When the calendar was first introduced; March 1 was celebrated as the new year because march was the first month of this original calendar. So February was the last month and it was allotted with the remaining number of days. This is why February has the least number of days. February remained as the last month of the year until 450 BC when it became the second month of the year.

In the original calendar

·         Sept-em-ber was the 7^th month

·         Oct-o-ber was the 8^th month

·         Nov-em-ber was the 9^th month

·         Dec-em-ber was the 10^th month

You might wonder why the New Year day has changed by now. We celebrate New Year to mark the completion of the year after 12 months of time. New Year was seen more as a festival than as a reference point in the calendar of time.  The months and the calendar were designed based on the seasons. The New Year day were changed by the emperors according to their wish. Even Dec 25^th and March 25^th were celebrated as the New Year day.

New year is just a reference point to denote one revolution of the Earth. The New Year day differs in every civilisation. Any astronomical activity or movement of celestial body is used as a reference point by most of the calendars. 

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