February - How It Gained Its Name & Lost A Day, The Lewisburg Journal 1905

 
All About February
As Published in the Lewisburg Journal, February 1905

How it Gained its Name and it Lost its Day

 The people who lived In Rome hundreds of years ago, used to have a festival, to which many people went. Everybody took with him goats and a dog. These animals were killed and offered to a god. After that two young men were brought to the altar. Their foreheads were touched with a Woody sword; then washed off with wool dipped in milk.

 The people then had a great feast. When that was done, each cut a whip from the skin of the animal he had brought. Then those who took part in the festival ran about the city whipping everyone who came near. 

Februalio was the name of this rude festival, and the whips were called Februa; so when the old Romans wanted a name for this month they thought of their festival held at this time of the year, and called it February. 

This is the shortest month of the year. It has only twenty-eight days. Do you know the reason? It is this: The Emperor Agustus, for whom the month of August was named, wanted his month to have as many days as any other month of the year. You know six other months have thirty-one days. So he just took a day from poor February, which already had one day less than any other and added it to August.

 You know all the months are of the same length every year except February, which has twenty-eight days every three years and twenty-nine In the fourth or leap year. You may not all know the reason. 

When the . Romans were making the months and years they found that a year had 365 days and nearly six hours in it. Now, every one of you know that four sixes make twenty-four; and that 24 hours make a whole day. So at the end of every four years there was a whole day to spare. What did they do with It? Just what you would have done, they gave It to February, the shortest month.