Patsy Mccloskey., Age 13, Of Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada, for her question:

What are the ides of march?

The calendar used by the romans was rather odd. It had only 10 months and 355 . What's more, the days of each month were reckoned backward from three fixed points called the calends, the ides and the nones. In some months, the ides fell upon the 15th day and in others on the 13th day.

The ides of march fell upon the 15th day of the month  but remember, we count backward from this point. The 14th day of the month was the second day of the ides, the 13th day was the third day of the ides. Altogether, seven days were dated from the ides of march.