February rate drops & interesting stories

A bit of history? February was added to the Roman calendar in 713 BC. The length of the month changed over time and, at one time, it had as few as 23 days. When Julius Caesar remade the Roman calendar, the month was assigned 28 days during normal years and 29 days during leap years which occurred every four years.

The Saxon term for the month, Sol-monath, means “cake month”. This is because they offered cakes to the gods during this month.

“February” is one of the most frequently misspelled words in the English language. In 2015, even the White House press office got it wrong—several times over the course of the month.

February got its start as a spring-cleaning festival. Well, kind of. It’s named after one: “Februa” was an early Roman festival and cleansing ritual held on February 15.

The odds of being born on February 29 are about 1 in 1,461. If you’re born on a leap day, you’re typically known as a “leaper” or “leapling.” And depending on where you live, February 28 or March 1 is considered your birthday in non-leap years.