The Romans were accustomed to divide the year into nundinæ, periods of eight days; and in their marble fasti, or calendars, of which numerous specimens remain, they used the first eight letters of the alphabet to mark the days of which each period was composed.
For example, 1 January 1907, was a Tuesday; the first Sunday fell on 6 January, or an F. F was, therefore, the Dominical Letter for 1907.
The first of January, 1908, was a Wednesday, the first Sunday fell on 5 January, and E was the Dominical Letter, but as 1908 was a leapyear, its Sundays after February came a day sooner than in a normal year and were Ds.
The days of the year are sometimes designated letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G in a cycle of 7 as an aid for finding the day of week of a given calendar date and in calculating Easter.
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