First a note. Not every 4th year is a leap year. We'll explain why later.
A normal year has 365 days. A leap year has 366 days - a day more, due to the addition of an additional day under the number 29 to the month of February, as a result of which those born on this day experience certain difficulties in celebrating their birthday.
A year is the time it takes for planet Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun in relation to the stars (apparently measured as the interval between two successive passages of the Sun through the vernal equinox).
A day (or often in everyday speech - a day) is the time during which the Earth makes one revolution around its axis. As you know, there are 24 hours in a day.
It turns out that a year does not fit exactly the number of days. There are 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.252 seconds in a year. If a year is taken to be equal to 365 days, then it turns out that the Earth in its orbital movement will not “reach” the point at which the circle “closes”, i.e. to get to it you need to fly in orbit for another 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.252 seconds. These extra approximately 6 hours over 4 years will just be collected into one additional day, which was introduced into the calendar to eliminate the backlog, receiving every 4th year leap year- a day longer. He did this on January 1, 45 BC. e. Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, and the calendar has since become known as Julian. In fairness, it must be said that Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar only by authority, and, of course, astronomers calculated and proposed it.
The Russian word "leap year" comes from the Latin expression "bis sextus" - "second sixth". The ancient Romans counted the days of the month remaining until the beginning of the next month. So February 24th was the sixth day until the beginning of March. In a leap year, an additional, second (bis sextus) sixth day was inserted between February 24 and February 25. Later this day began to be added to the end of the month, February 29.
So, according to the Julian calendar, every 4th year is a leap year.
But it is easy to notice that 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.252 seconds are not exactly 6 hours (11 minutes 14 seconds are missing). Of these 11 minutes and 14 seconds, over 128 years, another extra day will “run up.” This was noticed from astronomical observations by the shift of the vernal equinox, relative to which church holidays, in particular Easter, are calculated. By the 16th century the lag was 10 days (today it is 13 days). To eliminate it, Pope Gregory XIII carried out a calendar reform ( Gregorian calendar), according to which not every 4th year was a leap year. Years divisible by one hundred, i.e. ending with two zeros, were not leap years. The only exceptions were years divisible by 400.
So, leap years are years: 1) divisible by 4, but not by 100 (for example, 2016, 2020, 2024),
Note that the Russian Orthodox Church refused to switch to the Gregorian calendar and lives according to the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian. If the church continues to refuse to switch to the generally accepted Gregorian calendar, then in a few hundred years the shift will become such that, for example, Christmas will be celebrated in the summer.
All life on Earth is determined by its proximity to the Sun and the movement of the planet around it and around its own axis. A year is the time during which our planet flies around the Sun, and a day is the time of a complete revolution around its axis. It is, of course, very convenient for people to plan their affairs by week, to count a certain number of days in a month or year.
Nature is not a machine
But it turns out that during a full revolution around the Sun, the Earth does not rotate around its axis the full number of times. That is, there are not a full number of days in a year. Everyone knows that this happens 365 times and this corresponds to In fact, a little more: 365.25, that is, an extra 6 hours are accumulated in a year, and to be completely precise, an extra 5 hours, 48 minutes and 14 seconds.
Naturally, if this time is not taken into account, then the hours will add up to days, those to months, and after a few hundred years the difference between the generally accepted and astronomical calendar will be several months. This is completely unacceptable for social life: all holidays and memorable dates will be postponed.
Similar difficulties were discovered quite a long time ago, even under one of the greatest of them - Gaius Julius Caesar.
Order of Caesar
Emperors in Ancient Rome were revered on a par with gods and had unlimited power, so they simply changed the calendar with one order, and that’s all.
In Ancient Rome, the whole year was built on the basis of the celebration of Kalends, Nons and Ides (these were the names of the parts of the month). In this case, February was considered the last. Thus, there are 366 days in a leap year, with the extra days in the last month.
After all, it was quite logical to add a day in the last month of the year, in February. Moreover, interestingly, it was not the last day that was added, as it is now, but an additional day before the calendars of the month of March. Thus, February became two twenty-fourths. Leap years were appointed after three years, and the first of them occurred during the lifetime of Caesar Gaius Julius. After his death, the system went a little wrong because the priests made a mistake in the calculations, but over time the correct calendar of leap years was restored.
Nowadays, leap years are considered a little more complicated. And this is due to those few extra minutes that are obtained by introducing a full additional day every four years.
New calendar
The Gregorian calendar, according to which secular society currently lives, was introduced by Pope Gregory at the end of the 16th century. The reason why a new calendar was introduced is that the old timekeeping was inaccurate. By adding a day every four years, the Roman ruler did not take into account that the official calendar would be ahead of the generally accepted calendar by 11 minutes and 46 seconds every four years.
At the time of the introduction of the new calendar, the inaccuracy of the Julian calendar was 10 days; over time it increased and is now 14 days. The difference increases every century by about a day. It is especially noticeable on the day of the summer and winter solstice. And since some holidays are counted from these dates, we noticed the difference.
The Gregorian leap year calendar is a little more complex than the Julian calendar.
Structure of the Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar takes into account the difference in the official and astronomical calendars of 5 hours, 48 minutes and 14 seconds, that is, every 100 years one leap year is canceled.
So how do you know which year is a leap year and which is not? Is there a system and algorithm for canceling an extra day? Or is it better to use
For convenience, such an algorithm has actually been introduced. In general, every fourth year is considered a leap year; for convenience, years divisible by four are used. Therefore, if you need to find out whether the year of your grandmother’s birth or the beginning of World War II was a leap year, you just need to find out whether this year is divisible by 4 or not. Thus, 1904 is a leap year, 1908 is also a leap year, but 1917 is not.
The leap year is canceled at the change of centuries, that is, in a year that is a multiple of 100. Thus, 1900 was not a leap year, because it is a multiple of 100, non-leap years are also 1800 and 1700. But an extra day does not accumulate in a century, but in about 123 years, that is, amendments need to be made again. How do you know which year is a leap year? If a year is a multiple of 100 and a multiple of 400, it is considered a leap year. That is, 2000 was a leap year, just like 1600.
The Gregorian calendar, with such complex adjustments, is so accurate that there is extra time left, but we are talking about seconds. Such seconds are also called leap seconds, so that it is immediately clear what we are talking about. There are two of them per year and they are added on June 30 and December 31 at 23:59:59. These two seconds equalize astronomical and universal time.
What is different about a leap year?
A leap year is one day longer than usual and has 366 days. Previously, back in Roman times, this year there were two days on February 24, but now, of course, the dates are counted differently. This year in February there is one more day than usual, that is 29.
But it is believed that years that have February 29th are unlucky. There is a belief that during leap years the mortality rate increases and various misfortunes occur.
Happy or unhappy?
If you look at the mortality chart in the USSR in the second half of the 20th century and in Russia, you will notice that the highest level was recorded in 2000. This can be explained by economic crises, low living standards and other problems. Yes, the year 2000 was a leap year (since it is divisible by 400), but is that a rule? 1996 is not a record-breaking year for mortality; in the year preceding it, 1995, the mortality rate was higher.
This figure reached its minimum level in almost half a century during non-leap years, but in 1986 the mortality rate was also low, much lower than, for example, in 1981.
There are many more examples that can be given, but it is already clear that mortality does not increase in “long” years.
If you look at fertility statistics, you also cannot find a clear relationship with the length of the year. The leap years of the 20th century did not confirm the theory of misfortune. The birth rate in both Russia and European countries is falling evenly. A slight rise was observed only in 1987, and then the birth rate began to grow steadily after 2008.
Maybe a leap year determines some tension in politics or predetermines natural disasters or wars?
Among the dates of the start of hostilities, you can find only one leap year: 1812 - the war with Napoleon. For Russia it ended quite happily, but, of course, it was a serious test in itself. But neither the year of the revolution of 1905 nor 1917 were a leap year. The year the Second World War began (1939) was certainly the most miserable year for all of Europe, but it was not a leap year.
In leap years, explosions also occurred, but events such as the Chernobyl disaster, the tragedy in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, volcanic eruptions and other disasters happened in the most ordinary years. The list of leap years in the 20th century does not at all coincide with the mournful list of misfortunes and disasters.
Causes of misfortune
Psychologists believe that all statements about the death of a leap year are nothing more than superstition. If it is confirmed, they talk about it. And if it is not confirmed, they simply forget about it. But the expectation of misfortune in itself can “attract” misfortune. It is not for nothing that exactly what he fears often happens to a person.
One of the saints said: “If you don’t believe in omens, they will not come true.” In this case, this could not be more appropriate.
Leap year in Hebrew
The traditional Jewish calendar uses lunar months that last 28 days. As a result, the calendar year according to this system lags behind the astronomical year by 11 days. An additional month of the year is regularly introduced for adjustment. The leap year in the traditional Jewish calendar consists of thirteen months.
Leap years happen more often for Jews: out of nineteen years, only twelve are ordinary, and another seven are leap years. That is, Jews have many more leap years than usual. But, of course, we are talking only about the traditional Jewish calendar, and not about the one according to which the modern state of Israel lives.
Leap year: when is next year
All our contemporaries will no longer face exceptions in counting leap years. The next year, which will not be a leap year, is expected only in 2100, this is hardly relevant for us. So the next leap year can be calculated very simply: the nearest year that is divisible by 4.
2012 was a leap year, 2016 will be a leap year too, 2020 and 2024, 2028 and 2032 will be leap years. It's quite easy to calculate. Of course, it is necessary to know this, but do not let this information frighten you. And in a leap year, wonderful and joyful events happen. For example, they are considered lucky and happy.
Did you know that not every 4th year is a leap year? Why is a leap year considered unlucky, and what signs are associated with it?
What does leap year mean?
1. A leap year is a year in which there are 366 days, rather than the usual 365. An additional day in a leap year is added in February - February 29 (leap day).An extra day in a leap year is necessary because a full revolution around the Sun takes a little more than 365 days, or rather 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
People once followed a 355-day calendar with an additional 22-day month every two years. But in 45 BC. Julius Caesar, together with the astronomer Sosigenes, decided to simplify the situation, and the Julian 365-day calendar was developed, with an extra day every 4 years to compensate for the extra hours.
This day was added in February because it was once the last month in the Roman calendar.
2. This system was supplemented by Pope Gregory XIII (who introduced the Gregorian calendar), who coined the term "leap year" and declared that a year that is a multiple of 4 and a multiple of 400, but not a multiple of 100, is a leap year.
So, according to the Gregorian calendar, 2000 was a leap year, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not.
What are leap years in the 20th and 21st centuries?
1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, 2044, 2048, 2052, 2056, 2060, 2064, 2068, 2072, 2076, 2080, 2084, 2088, 2092, 2096February 29 is leap day
3. February 29 is considered the only day when a woman can propose marriage to a man. This tradition began in 5th century Ireland when St. Brigid complained to St. Patrick that women had to wait too long for suitors to propose. Then he gave women one day in a leap year - the last day in the shortest month, so that the fair sex could propose to a man.
According to legend, Brigitte immediately knelt down and proposed to Patrick, but he refused, kissing her on the cheek and offering her a silk dress to soften her refusal.
4. According to another version, this tradition appeared in Scotland, when Queen Margaret, at the age of 5, announced in 1288 that a woman could propose to any man she liked on February 29.
She also made a rule that those who refused had to pay a fine in the form of a kiss, a silk dress, a pair of gloves or money. To warn suitors in advance, the woman was required to wear trousers or a red petticoat on the day of the proposal.
In Denmark, a man who refuses a woman's marriage proposal must provide her with 12 pairs of gloves, and in Finland - fabric for a skirt.
Leap year wedding
5. Every fifth couple in Greece avoids getting married on a leap year, as it is believed to bring bad luck. In Italy, it is believed that during a leap year a woman becomes unpredictable, and there is no need to plan important events at this time. So, according to the Italian proverb "Anno bisesto, anno funesto". (“A leap year is a doomed year”).
Born on February 29
6. The chances of being born on February 29th are 1 in 1461. Around the world, about 5 million people were born on Leap Day. 7. For many centuries, astrologers believed that children born on Leap Day have unusual talents, a unique personality and even special powers. Among the famous people born on February 29 are the poet Lord Byron, composer Gioachino Rossini, and actress Irina Kupchenko.
8. In Hong Kong, the official birthday for those born on February 29 is March 1 in normal years, while in New Zealand it is February 28. If you time it right, you can celebrate the longest birthday in the world while traveling from one country to another.
9. The town of Anthony in Texas, USA is the self-proclaimed “Leap Year Capital of the World.” A festival is held here every year, where those born on February 29 gather from all over the world.
10. The record for the largest number of generations born on a leap day belongs to the Keogh family.
Peter Anthony Keogh was born on February 29, 1940 in Ireland, his son Peter Eric was born on February 29, 1964 in the UK, and his granddaughter Bethany Wealth was born on February 29, 1996.
11. Karin Henriksen from Norway holds the world record for giving birth to the largest number of children on a leap day.
Her daughter Heidi was born on February 29, 1960, son Olav on February 29, 1964, and son Lief-Martin on February 29, 1968.
12. In the traditional Chinese, Jewish and ancient Indian calendars, not a leap day is added to the year, but a whole month. It is called the "intercalary month". It is believed that children born in a leap month are more difficult to raise. In addition, it is considered unlucky to start serious business during a leap year.
Leap year: signs and superstitions
Since ancient times, a leap year has always been considered difficult and bad for many undertakings. In popular beliefs, leap year is associated with Saint Kasyan, who was considered evil, envious, stingy, unmerciful and brought misfortune to people. According to legend, Kasyan was a bright angel to whom God trusted all plans and intentions. But then he went over to the side of the Devil, telling him that God intended to overthrow all satanic power from heaven.
For his betrayal, God punished Kasyan by ordering him to be beaten on the forehead with a hammer for three years, and in the fourth year to be released to earth, where he committed unkind deeds.
There are many signs associated with leap year:
Firstly, you can’t start anything on a leap year. This applies to important matters, business, major purchases, investments and construction.
It is also not recommended to change anything during a leap year, as this will not bring the desired result and can even be disastrous. During such a period, you should not plan to move to a new house, change jobs, divorce or get married.
Is it possible to get married on a leap year?
A leap year is considered extremely unlucky for marriage. Since ancient times, it was believed that a wedding played in a leap year would lead to an unhappy marriage, divorce, infidelity, widowhood, or the marriage itself would be short-lived. This superstition may be due to the fact that in a leap year, girls could woo any young man they liked, who could not refuse the proposal. Often such marriages were forced, and therefore family life did not work out.
However, you should treat these signs wisely and understand that everything depends on the spouses themselves and how they build the relationship. If you do plan a wedding, there are several ways to mitigate the “consequences”:
Brides are advised to wear a long dress for their wedding that covers their knees to make the marriage last.
It is not recommended to give a wedding dress and other wedding accessories to anyone.
The ring should be worn on the hand, not the glove, since wearing a ring on the glove will cause the spouses to take the marriage lightly
To protect the family from troubles and misfortunes, a coin was placed in the shoes of the bride and groom.
The bride must keep the spoon from which the groom ate, and on the 3rd, 7th and 40th day after the wedding, the wife had to give her husband something to eat from this particular spoon.
What should you not do during a leap year?
· During a leap year, people do not carol at Christmas time, as it is believed that you can lose your happiness. Also, according to a sign, a caroler who dresses up as an animal or monster can take on the personality of an evil spirit. · Pregnant women should not cut their hair before giving birth, as the baby may be born unhealthy.
· During a leap year, you should not start building a bathhouse, which can lead to illness.
· During a leap year, it is not recommended to tell others about your plans and intentions, as luck may change.
· It is not recommended to sell or exchange animals and kittens should not be drowned, as this will lead to poverty.
· You cannot pick mushrooms, as it is believed that they all become poisonous.
· During a leap year, there is no need to celebrate the appearance of a child’s first tooth. According to legend, if you invite guests, your teeth will be bad.
· You cannot change your job or apartment. According to the sign, the new place will turn out to be joyless and turbulent.
· If a child is born in a leap year, he must be baptized as quickly as possible, and godparents must be chosen among blood relatives.
· Elderly people should not buy funeral items in advance, as this may hasten death.
· You can’t get a divorce, because in the future you won’t be able to find your happiness.
The main difference between a leap year is the number of days in February. In a leap year, unlike a normal year, February has twenty-nine days instead of the usual twenty-eight. There are different opinions as to whether a leap year can be called unsuccessful. Superstitious people fear its onset because they associate it with the beginning of a difficult period in life. This year, a person in all matters is accompanied by failures that cannot be avoided. But this is just one opinion.
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- You cannot start building a house, bathhouse, or cottage. It is believed that an accident may occur at a construction site that will prevent the work from being completed.
- Working with soil is dangerous for humans. It is better not to plant new plants, as they may not take root and die.
- Kasyan will jinx a person’s undertakings if he tells someone about his plans. You can only trust your closest family member or friend whose thoughts are pure.
- Ancestors advised to avoid long journeys. The journey will end poorly and will not bring the expected result.
- If there is a pet in the house, under no circumstances should you give it to anyone. Prosperity and good fortune will leave the house with him.
- Unfavorable period for starting your own business. Financial investments will not be successful, the person will lose a large amount.
- The place of work should be changed only if the person is confident that he will be able to realize himself in the new position. Otherwise, he will face problems at work.
- Women should not change their image. A new hairstyle and a change in hair color mean trouble. The fair sex will not be pleased with the changes that have occurred in her. She will feel stiff and tight for some time.
Ancient legend about leap year
Leap years are considered bad for a reason. There is an old legend associated with it that reveals the origin story of this year.
Leap year is associated with the name of the angel Kasyan. The Lord trusted him with his plans and thoughts. But Kasyan could not resist the temptation and went over to the side of the dark forces. He was punished for his betrayal. For three years he was beaten for his anger and cowardice, and in the fourth year he descended to earth and harmed people in every possible way. Our ancestors believed that Kasyan could ruin their harvest and bring disease to their livestock.
It cannot be said unequivocally that a leap year is unlucky. Yes, more accidents are happening all over the world. But this can be explained quite simply: the statistics of accidents increases due to the fact that the leap year is one day longer. This is a logical explanation that is difficult to dispute. The number of months does not change, but one is added per day during which an accident, car accident or death of a person may occur.
Superstitions and omens for birthdays - what can and cannot be given, how to make a wish correctly?
Signs
We have come down to many examples related to leap years. The most controversial of them is the sign according to which a marriage entered into this year will not be happy for the young. This superstition appeared for a reason. It has its own story. In ancient times, leap year was called the “Year of Brides.” The girl could choose her betrothed herself and woo him. According to the rules, the groom could not refuse, even if he was in love with another girl. Marriages were not based on mutual love. Because of this, the relationship was not happy and strong. Therefore, a prejudice has arisen that it is undesirable to hold a wedding this year.
In Orthodoxy, this sign is treated with skepticism. The wedding must be held according to the church calendar, to which leap year has nothing to do. This year is not bad for Muslims. There are no superstitions or omens in Islam.
People born in a leap year were perceived ambiguously by our ancestors. Someone believed that the baby had an unhappy fate from childhood. There is an opposite opinion, according to which the child is unique, different from other children. A happy and successful life awaits him; good luck will accompany him in all his endeavors.
People believed that a child whose birthday was on February 29th was endowed with esoteric abilities. He was born for a reason; he has a kind and bright mission on earth: to help his neighbors.
Signs of Fate cannot be ignored. If a person feels that he is endowed with a rare gift, he should use it for good purposes.
Prohibitions
There are many prohibitions that affect people's lives. They all boil down to the fact that you shouldn’t make big plans for a leap year. There is a high probability that they will not be implemented. What to avoid:
sharky:
03/25/2013 at 16:04
Why on earth is 1900 not a leap year? A leap year occurs every 4 years, i.e. If it is divisible by 4, it is a leap year. And no more divisions by 100 or 400 are needed.
It’s normal to ask questions, but before you assert anything, study the hardware. The Earth revolves around the sun in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds. As you can see, the remainder is not exactly 6 hours, but 11 minutes 14 seconds less. This means that by making a leap year we add extra time. Somewhere over 128 years, extra days accumulate. Therefore, every 128 years in one of the 4-year cycles there is no need to make a leap year in order to get rid of these extra days. But to simplify things, every 100th year is not a leap year. Is the idea clear? Fine. What then should we do next, since an extra day is added every 128 years, and we cut it off every 100 years? Yes, we cut off more than we should, and this needs to be returned at some point.
If the first paragraph is clear and still interesting, then read on, but it will be more difficult.
So, in 100 years, 100/128 = 25/32 days of excess time accumulates (that’s 18 hours 45 minutes). We do not make a leap year, that is, we subtract one day: we get 25/32-32/32 = -7/32 days (that’s 5 hours 15 minutes), that is, we subtract the excess. After four cycles of 100 years (after 400 years), we will subtract an extra 4 * (-7/32) = -28/32 days (this is minus 21 hours). For the 400th year we make a leap year, that is, we add a day (24 hours): -28/32+32/32=4/32=1/8 (that’s 3 hours).
We make every 4th year a leap year, but at the same time every 100th year is not a leap year, and at the same time every 400th year is a leap year, but still every 400 years an extra 3 hours are added. After 8 cycles of 400 years, that is, after 3200 years, an extra 24 hours will accumulate, that is, one day. Then another mandatory condition is added: every 3200th year should not be a leap year. 3200 years can be rounded up to 4000, but then you will again have to play with added or trimmed days.
3200 years have not passed, so this condition, if it is made this way, is not yet talked about. But 400 years have already passed since the approval of the Gregorian calendar.
Years that are multiples of 400 are always leap years (for now), other years that are multiples of 100 are not leap years, and other years that are multiples of 4 are leap years.
The calculation I gave shows that in the current state, an error in one day will accumulate over 3200 years, but here’s what Wikipedia writes about it:
“An error of one day compared to the year of the equinoxes in the Gregorian calendar will accumulate in approximately 10,000 years (in the Julian calendar - approximately in 128 years). A frequently encountered estimate, leading to a value of the order of 3000 years, is obtained if one does not take into account that the number of days in the tropical year changes over time and, in addition, the relationship between the lengths of the seasons changes.” From the same Wikipedia, the formula for the length of a year in days with fractions paints a good picture:
365,2425=365+0,25-0,01+0,0025=265+1/4-1/100+1/400
The year 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was, and special, because such a leap year happens once every 400 years.