‘Perfect February' calendar is not once-in-823-years phenomenon

February’s calendar, now referred to as “Perfect February”, in many social media posts, went viral online.

The month is now celebrated as “perfect month" due to its unusual symmetry.

February 2026 starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, creating a clean four-week rectangle with exactly four of each weekday and no days spilling into a fifth row.

This pleasing grid has enthralled planners, organisers, and anyone who loves order, with comments on the phenomenon ranging from "oddly satisfying" to "perfect for habit trackers."

Although the hype implies this occurrence is extremely rare, it is, in fact, a predictable anomaly of the Gregorian calendar. A "perfect" rectangular February occurs in any non-leap year when the first day is a Sunday. The last time this happened was in 2015, and the next time will be in 2037.

This falsified the viral claim made by many social media posts that this is an extremely rare phenomenon occurring once-in-a-823-years.

Major holidays and observances in February

• February 1: National Freedom Day (commemorates the signing of the 13th Amendment
• All Month: Black History Month
• February 2: Groundhog Day
• February 8: Super Bowl Sunday (Super Bowl 60, 6:30 p.m. ET)
• February 14: Valentine’s Day (falls on a Saturday)
• February 16: Presidents' Day (Federal Holiday; banks & government offices closed)
• February 17: Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)
• February 18: Ash Wednesday (start of Lent)

Celestial Events

• February 1: Full Moon (Snow Moon)
• February 17: New Moon
• February 28: Planetary Parade (Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter align; some visible with the naked eye)

Sports and major events

• February 6: 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (2:30 p.m. ET, hosted in Italy)
• February 8: Super Bowl 60 (Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots)