Oh fantabulous fecking February, with days fast and fleeting…
Yeah, some months feel short enough already, and then we have February. What is that, you say? “But Paul, February has an extra day this year.” Well, that’s lovely, but it’s still the shortest month.
Blame Roman superstition: King Numa (yeah, I’m tickled by the name for what will be an obvious reason in a moment) had a thing for numbers, and decided that the 10-month Roman calendar, with 6 months of 30 days and 4 months of 31 days, needed an upgrade.
On this point I’m inclined to agree, although I’m more along the lines of making nearly all the months 28 days to line up with our lunar cycle and damn near our solar cycle. This way the nth day of any given month in that same year is always going to be the same day of the week, and even if we tack on extra day during one the months (make it December, for example), there is only a one-day offset to the following year, which we already have except in the case of leap years.
On the other hand, Numa the numbers guy, like many Romans of the day, held that even numbers were unlucky. With a solar year having 354 ⅓ days as calculated at the time – I know, not the 365 ¼ we crunch currently. They did the best they could with what they had, folks.- the king just couldn’t have a calendar with an even 354, so he rounded up to 355, redistributed the days, and still decided to have a month with an even number of days. Better an unlucky month than a whole unlucky year, I suppose. So unlucky in fact, that this unlucky month of February was chosen to host Roman rituals to honor the dead.
So folks, the next time you’re feeling all “didn’t I just pay this bill” when March rolls around, blame ol’ Numa the Numpty. And with that, I’ve gotten that rant out of my system, at least until next year!
Side note: I have zero issue with people holding to superstitions. I put mustard seeds in my tip basket, I have a particular go-to drink for some gig nights. I am however just a tad mystified at the idea of revising an entire calendar on the basis of a segment in it having a fifty percent option of being unlucky. 😉 Also, Numa is by no means related to NUMA, the National Underwater and Marine Agency founded by amazing author Clive Cussler.
On the topic of luck, it is also that time of year that we lean heavily into the Irish. St. Patrick’s Day, and the weekend of, is right around the corner, and this year looks to be a busy one. We’re dusting off and revisiting some of our more trad pieces, and the weekend’s schedule is looking pretty solid.
So far, on Saturday 16-March, we’ve got the downtown Phoenix St. Patrick’s Day Faire in the afternoon, and Fibber Magees in Chandler that evening. On Sunday 17-March we’ll be the morning opener at Seamus McCaffreys downtown until the early afternoon, and then we slide up to Surprise – it’s not that far, really – to play the evening at The Irish Wolfhound.
Mind you, we’re also in talks about some possible extra events for the Friday evening leading into that weekend. Make sure to stay tuned for more details, including our annual “How to Survive The Weekend” primer.
Also of note, if you’re reading this on day-of-release, you’ll also be served well to know that we have our monthly Patreon LiveChat this Friday 16-February starting at 7p AZ/MT (9p ET / 8p CT / 6p PT) and on Saturday 17-February we’re back at Fibber Magees starting 730p. We’d love to see you at either, or even better, Both!
For now, however, I shall retire to a cup of coffee and perhaps a meditative soak, and leave you with the fondest hopes that we get better calendars.