Thirty days hath September

"Thirty days hath September" is a traditional English mnemonic rhyme, of which many variants are commonly used in English-speaking countries to remember the lengths of the months in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

History

The rhyme has a long history. A medieval version is found in the 15th century manuscript Harley 2341, in the British Library::"Thirty days hath November,":"April, June, and September:":"Of twenty-eight is but one,":"And all the remnant thirty-one." [Modernised text based on Luria & Hoffman, "Middle English Lyrics" (New York: Norton, 1974), p.109]

Modern versions

Modern versions differ from this in two main respects. Firstly, September and November are often reversed; secondly, leap years are taken into account in an additional couplet. As with any text that is still primarily transmitted orally, many versions exist, and only the first line is now always the same. The first four lines are usually similar, being (with syllables often omitted being bracketed):"Thirty days hath September,":"April, June, and [dull] November:":"All the rest have thirty-one,":"but silly old February spoils the fun."But there is no clear preference for any of the alternative endings, such as:"Which hath twenty-eight days clear,":"And twenty-nine in each leap year,"or:"Which has eight and a score":"Until leap year gives it one day more,"or:"Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,":"Till leap year make it twenty-nine."or:"Which has four and twenty-four,":"And every fourth year, one day more."or:"except the second month alone,:"to which we twenty-eight assign,:"till leap year gives it twenty-nine."or:"except for February alone,":"which has twenty-eight days each year,":"and twenty-nine days each leap year."or:"excepting February alone,":"which has twenty-eight days or,":"in a leap year, adds one more."or:"in each leap we assign,":"February twenty-nine." or:"When short February's done,":"all the rest have thirty-one."or:"February alone don't hold the line,":"for three years it has twenty-eight,":"and the fourth year twenty-nine."or:"but February, it is done":"at twenty-eight, but add one more":"whenever the year divides by four."or (as sung by Hoagy Carmichael and later Stark Reality (band)):"except that quite contrary, February":"which has twenty-eight, most of the time,":"but in leap year twenty-nine"

Other variations

Infelicitous as it may seem, it is very common to recite the first couplet followed by unrhymed and/or unmetrical prose::"Thirty days hath September,":"April, June, and November;":"All the rest have thirty-one, except February, which has twenty-eight, or twenty-nine in leap year."or:"Thirty days hath September,":"April, June, and November;":"All the rest have thirty-one, except February clear,":"Which has twenty-eight, or twenty-nine each leap year."or:"Thirty days hath September,":"April, June, and November;":"All the rest have thirty-one,":"Excepting February, which hath but twenty-eight,":"Till Leap Year gives it twenty-nine."

Alternatively, a common rhymed version is::"Thirty days hath September,":"April, June, and November;":"Thirty-one the others date,":"Excepting February, twenty-eight;":"But in leap year we assign":"February, twenty-nine."

Other versions also exist which differ more greatly from the modern standard. Some remain much closer to the medieval version in the third and fourth lines, as for example a version that follows "November" with:"February has twenty-eight alone,":"All the rest have thirty-one.":"Except in leap year, that's the time":"When February days have twenty-nine."

While others are more specific about the nature of leap years::"All the rest have thirty-one," :"Though February, it is done":"At twenty-eight, though leap one more":"Whenever the year divides by four."

or

:"February alone has twenty-eight.":"All the rest have thirty-one":"Except in Leap Year":"Coming once in four":"Which gives February one day more."

or, even yet ANOTHER modern adaption:

:"Thirty-days has September," :"April, June and November,":"All the rest have thirty-one,":"'Cept February which has twenty-eight,":"And in leap year twenty-nine"

Parodies of the original also exist:

:"Thirty days has September,":"All the rest I can't remember,":"Why bother with this rhyme at all,":"Just look at the calendar on the wall."

or

:"Thirty days have September,":"April, June, and November;":"All the rest have thirty-one,":"Except February, which ruins this rhyme anyway."

Knuckles

There is also a mnemonic counting on the knuckles of one's hand to remember the numbers of days of the months. [cite book |title= |last=Lardner |first=Dionysius |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1855 |publisher=Walton and Maberly |format=Encyclopedias and dictionaries |location= |isbn= |accessdate=Digitized Jul 16, 2007
pages=152 |quote=When we close the hand there are four projecting knuckles of the four fingers, with depressions between them. If we give the knuckles and intermediate depressions the names of the successive months, recommencing from the first knuckle, after having once gone over them, we shall find that the months of thirty-one days are those which fall upon the knuckles. ] Count knuckles as 31 days, depressions between knuckles as 30 (or 28/29) days. Start with the pointer knuckle as January, and count one finger at a time towards the pinky knuckle (July), saying the months as you go. Then jump back to the pointer knuckle (now August) and continue for the remaining months.

An alternative equivalent mnemonic is to use the knuckles on both hands. Starting with one fist clenched and using the index finger of the other hand to count the months starting at the "pinky" knuckle (January) of the clenched fist, counting knuckles as 31 days and depressions between knuckles as 30 (or 28/29) days. When the last knuckle is reached (July), swap hands and clench the fist of the other hand, beginning at the adjacent knuckle (that of the index finger), which would be August, and finishing on the knuckle of the ring finger (December).

References