Why does July and August have 31 days?

EVER wondered why some months in the year have more or less days than others?

It's a long and intriguing history, and in July and August's case, their length was changed to honour Roman emperors.

The names of days of the week and months in the year are such a big part of our lives that we rarely think about what they actually mean, and how they came to be.

We have Roman emperor Julius Caesar – or his astronomers – to thank for the calendar we use today, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich website.

Previously there had been ten months in the calendar, but it was increased to 12 in the first century BC.

A leap year was also added on in order to synchronise with the changing of the seasons.

When was July and August added to the calendar?

At this point, two new months – January and February – were added to the calendar.

The names of the fifth and sixth months of the previous calendar became "July" and "August".

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The name change honoured Julius Caesar and his great-nephew and successor, Augustus.

Both months were also upped to 31 days in order to reflect their importance, as they bore the name of respected Roman leaders.

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Which other months have 31 days?

When you learning the months of the year as child, you may have been taught a traditional song which lays out how many days each month has in the modern Gregorian calendar.

It's a mnemonic song, meaning it's way of helping to remember information.

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It goes: "30 days hath September,
April, June, and November,
All the rest have 31,
Save February at 28,
But leap year, coming once in four,
February then has one day more."

But if nursery rhymes aren't for you, can always just consult our list of how many days each month has in the year:

January – 31 days
February – 28 days (29 days in leap years)
March – 31 days
April – 30 days
May – 31 days
June – 30 days
July – 31 days
August – 31 days
September – 30 days
October – 31 days
November – 30 days
December – 31 days

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Why does July and August have 31 days? | The Sun