Curiosities about leap years: surprising calendar facts
We start February with enthusiasm! Did you know this year is leap year?
That means it has one extra day this year, and that extra day always happens in February.
This year, February has 29 days, instead of 28.
¿How often is a leap year?? Every four years.
2024 is a leap year. Therefore, it does four years It was also, in 2020.
Why does this phenomenon happen? If you stay with us you will discover it.
We will see the origin of leap years, many curiosities and ancient traditions that used to be done in these years.
This year you have one more day to learn Spanish in Hispania, escuela de español 😁.
In our Spanish courses You will learn the language in classes where communication and fun are the basis of our teaching system.
Do you want to know why this month of February has one more day? Well let's go there!
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Origin of leap years
Adding one more day every four years is totally necessary. And it turns out that the Earth It doesn't take exactly 365 days in going around the Sun.
It actually takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
You are almost 6 hours accumulate and every four years they are added to the calendar, giving rise to the 29 February.
Anciently, the Egyptians already knew this and had their leap year. Julio Caesar He adopted this idea and created his own calendar, the July calendar.iano.
This calendar had the need to correct the inconsistencies and lags in the measurement of time.
Before the implementation of leap years by Julio Caesar in the 45th century BC., the Roman calendar consisted of 355 days, divided into 12 months.
However, this system did not fit properly. movement of the Earth around the Sun, which caused a lag in relation to the seasons.
The Roman calendar before Julio Caesar
El ancient calendar Roman empire It was based on cycles of 355 days divided into 12 months.
To keep the calendar in tune with the seasons, it was added an extra month of 22 days every two years.
However, this was not enough to compensate for the additional time it takes for the Earth to make a complete revolution around the Sun, which affected the synchronization of the calendar with natural cycles.
Implementation of leap years by Julio Caesar and Gregory XIII
Given the inconsistencies of the Roman calendar, Julio Caesar made the decision to implement leap years in the year 45 BC.
With this measure, an extra day was added to the calendar every four years, which was originally a 24 February.
However, this calendar was still not completely perfect. It was not until year 1582 when the calendar we know today was finally created, of the 365 days.
He did it Pope Gregory XIII. He added 4 days to February (28) and every four years one more day to February (29), thus having the years with leap february.
With these gregor calendariano It was possible to compensate for the additional hours that the Earth took in its movement around the Sun.
It was finally achieved synchronize the calendar with the seasons correctly 🍂☃️🌹🌞.
Curiosities about leap years and the month of February
The leap years are a quirk of the calendar that occurs every four years.
Like the the clocks going back in autumn. , is used to square the hours and seasons with the movement of the Earth around the sun.
In addition to having an extra day, the 29 February, these years bring with them some interesting trivia What are we going to tell you?
February and its reduced number of days
One of the curiosities of the month of February is the fact that has fewer days than the rest of the months.
This is due to the calendar reorganization carried out by Julio Caesar, who decided to add an extra day to his month, julio, in honor of himself.
Julio It shouldn't have 31 days, but 30.
As a result, February lost some days to keep the length of the year at 365 days.
People born on February 29
One of the most fascinating curiosities of leap years are all the born on February 29.
These people celebrate their birthday every four years, on the exact date.
It is estimated that there are around 4 million people all over the world who were born on this special date.
Their birthday is a cause for curiosity, as they experience the passage of time in a unique way.
Although it is normal that celebrate your birthday on February 28, since that day is every year. 😁
How do you know if a year is a leap year?
All leap years are divisible by 4.
On the other hand, they cannot be divided by 100 because they are always even years. Leap years always end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.
¿When was the last leap year before this? It was the year 2020.
El next leap year will be 2028.
Some leap years are ignored
Every four years there is a a leap-year, although sometimes this doesn't happen.
For mathematical reasons, if a leap year falls at the end of the century and cannot be divided by 400, then it is not considered a leap year and there are not 29 days celebrated in February, but 28.
This happened, for example, in the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s.
The tradition of women proposing marriage in leap years
In some countries like United Kingdom, there is an ancient tradition in which women propose marriage to men during leap years, specifically the 29 February.
Although its origin is uncertain, this custom has endured over the years and is seen as an opportunity to challenge social norms. y change gender roles.
Although some consider this tradition obsolete, it is still practiced in some places.
Superstitions and beliefs about leap years
The leap years have been involved in superstitions and beliefs that have endured throughout the centuries.
These superstitions have almost always been negative.
For example, in some countries of Western culture it is believed that getting married during a leap year will bring bad luck to that marriage.
During some leap years they have also happened great misfortunes such as the sinking of the Titanic (1912), the assassination of Martin Luther King (1968) or the assassination of John Lennon (1980).
Although some people attribute bad luck to leap years, it is important to keep in mind that these superstitions have no scientific basis.
leap years they are needed. They help us synchronize our calendar with the movement of the Earth around the Sun. 🙌🏻
Now you know what is a leap year, why it is generated and some interesting curiosities.
You'll never go to bed without learning one more thing.
Did you like the article? Well, comment and we'll talk!
Bye!
Article written by Carlos Martínez for Hispania, escuela de español.
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