Months of the year list
| # | Month Name | Days in Month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 31 days |
| 2 | February | 28 days (common year) 29 days (leap year*) |
| 3 | March | 31 days |
| 4 | April | 30 days |
| 5 | May | 31 days |
| 6 | June | 30 days |
| 7 | July | 31 days |
| 8 | August | 31 days |
| 9 | September | 30 days |
| 10 | October | 31 days |
| 11 | November | 30 days |
| 12 | December | 31 days |
* Leap year occures every 4 years, except for years that are divisable by 100 and not divisable by 400.
Every calendar year has 12 months and the number of days in each month usually vary. A common year has 365 days and the number of days in every month can either be 28, 30 or 31. However, a leap year usually has an extra day that is added in the month of February. It occurs after every 4 years and we add an extra day to make it 366 days long. The additional day is also referred to as Leap day or intercalary day. The approximation helps align our current calendar with the solar year and astronomical seasons that are marked by solstices and equinoxes.
The Gregorian calendar is comprised of 12 months listed systematically as; January (31 days), February (28 days)- common year and (29 days) for the leap year, 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) and December (31 days).
These months originated as a way of breaking up the year into shorter periods and mark time-based on the Moon's orbit around the sun. The use of months as a mark of time can be traced back to Mesopotamia between the years 500 BCE and 400 BCE. They were used to measure the natural period related to the synodic month or lunar month. This is the time taken by the moon to surpass all the moon phases.
Each month of the Gregorian calendar is associated with one of the four seasons i.e. spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Winter comes in the month of January and February while spring in the months of March, April and May. June, July, and August are associated with the summer season while autumn is the last season seen in the months of September, October and November. However, the tropical year, marked with the four seasons is always dynamic. The change is brought about by a constant shift in the orientation of the Earth's equator but with a slight margin.
In the Gregorian calendar, there are 7 months that are 31 days long and 4 months which are 30 days long. February is the only month that has 28 days in the common years and 29 days in the leap years. The Julian calendar was preceded by the Gregorian calendar. Although it is no longer used today, they both have 12 months but differ by the number of days that make up one year.