Dumb question
Why don't we have 13 months?
There are 12 months with roughly 4 weeks in each, but there are 52 weeks total. So why didn't we just go with 13 months of four? Is this all due to leap year?
There are 12 months with roughly 4 weeks in each, but there are 52 weeks total. So why didn't we just go with 13 months of four? Is this all due to leap year?
posted by Robert_M at 9:17 AM
5 Comments:
man...you're making my head hurt.
~b
I know someone knows the answer, this lot is cleverer than most.
I used to know the answer but I forgot.
The modern day Gregorian calendar has a long and bizzare history, and is strongly tied up with the Catholic Church. But rather than bore you to tears, here's the Cliff Notes version:
* The Greogrian calendar is a revised version of the Julian calendar, invented by Julius Caesar
* The Julian calendar was in turn a revised version of the Roman calendar, attributed to Romulus.
* The original Roman calendar was loosely tied to the phases of the moon and planting seasons. But it quickly got out of sync because 12 months of 28 days don't equal a solar year.
* The Romans were smart enough to realize this error but it took a heck of a long time for anyone to fix it.
-K.
I had a feeling K would dominate this question.
Thanks
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