After a fewyears, theseasonsareoutofwhackwiththemonths, dogsandcats, livingtogether, masshysteria!
Didwealreadyusethatjoke?
Thisiswhereitgetsevenweirder.
See, Februarywasactuallysplitintwoparts. Thefirst 23 daysand… therest.
Everyyear, Numa's superstitiouscalendarwouldbeoutoflinewiththeseasonsby a littlemorethan 10 days.
Soeveryotheryear, thelastfewdaysofFebruarywereignored, and a 27-dayleapmonthwasaddedafterFebruary 23rdor 24th.
Thiswayeveryfouryearswouldaverageoutto 366 and a quarterdays… whichisstilltoomanydays, butwe'regettingthere.
Confused? Youshouldbe. Numa!
Thissystemcouldhaveworked, every 19 years, lunarandsolarcalendarstendtolineup, soaddenoughleapmonthstokeeptheseasonsinorderandeventuallyeverythingwillresetitself.
Caesarhadspent a lotoftimeinEgypt, where 365-daycalendarswerealltherage, soin 46 BC, heflushedRome's lunarcalendardowntheaqueductandinstalled a solarcalendar.
JanuaryandFebruaryhadalreadybeenmovedtothebeginningoftheyear, andCaesaradded 10 daystodifferentmonthstoget a totalof 365.
Andsince a tropicalyearis a tadlongerthan 365 days, Juliusadded a leapdayeveryfouryears, exceptthattheyinserteditafterFebruary 23, rightinthemiddleofthemonth.