Let’s face it, February is the strangest month: it’s in full winter, but people feel like it’s spring already; it’s the shortest of months, and the only one with 28 days. If that wasn’t enough, it’s got an extra day every four years. It’s nothing, though, if you think how, once upon a time, it didn’t even exist – yes, you read it right.

The Gregorian Calendar, the one the world follows today, was first implemented in the 16th century – more about it shortly – but, before then, time was not the same for everyone, and February, with its shortness and changing length, is the most significant vestige of it.