Leap Year 2024: The History of February 29

admin February 29, 2024

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It usually occurs every 4 years in the calendar, although there are exceptions. No, I’m not talking about the Cricket/Football World Cup or the Olympic Games; The topic discussed here is ‘Leap’ (Leap Year).

Today is February 29, 2024. That is, the leap day of 2024 (Leap Year) (Leap Day/Leap Year Day). Although almost all of us have a general idea about Leap, let me make it simple.

What is a Leap Year?

Usually, we calculate a year in 365 days. A year in which an extra day (365+1=366) is added to the calendar is called a leap year, and the extra day is called a leap day.

The English word ‘leap’ means to jump/transcend. In Bengali, it is called adhiversha; Adhi is a prefix in Bengali that is used in the sense of preeminence, predominance/superiority.

This extra day is added in February of a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, which is currently the most common in the world. This is practiced to keep the balance between the common year and the astronomical year.

Why does it occur every 4 years?

The actual time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun once is about 365.25 days (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds). But in the traditional Gregorian calendar, the year is calculated in 365 days. Thus, every year, about 6 hours remain unaccounted for, which is equal to about one day in four years. To make up for this shortfall, the year is calculated every four years with 366 days. According to this calculation, years divisible by 4 are called leap years. For example, 2016, 2020, and 2024 are leap years.

Exceptions rules of Leap Year

The Earth does not take exactly 365.25 days to go around the Sun; it takes a little less. So it is seen that if the leap year is observed after four years, 3 days will be extra in every 400 years. To solve this problem, years that are divisible by 100 but not divisible by 400 are excluded from the list of leap years. E.g., 1900 is not a leap year, even though it is divisible by 4. Because it is divisible by 100 but not by 400. According to this calculation, 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, but 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, and 2300 are not leap years.

Variation of Leap Year Calendar

Almost all the major calendars used in the world deal with leap years in different ways.

The most common calendar today is the Gregorian calendar, which is actually a reformed successor to the earlier Julian calendar.

The new calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC is known as the Julian calendar. This calendar has been in use since 45 BC. The leap year rule was prevalent in the Julian calendar. Initially, leap years were prevalent in 3 years, but the rule of leap years was introduced in 4 years from 2004.

On the other hand, the reformed version of the Julian calendar by then Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 is known as the Gregorian calendar. Originally, this reform was done to accurately determine the date of the Christian festival of Easter. This reform also includes the Adhivarsha reform. In the reformed Gregorian calendar, the rule of division by 400 above was introduced to eliminate the error of 3 days in the leap rule every 400 years.

Amazing Facts About On February 29

Major roles in this reform of the leap year were taken by the astronomer Pietro Pitatti of Verona, Italy, the Italian astronomer Aloysius Lilius, and the German mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius.

This is the scientific and historical aspect of the leap year. In addition, there are many rituals centred around Adhivarsha in different socio-cultural contexts around the world.

In some European countries, including the British, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, there is a popular tradition called ‘Leap Year Proposal’ or ‘Bachelor’s Day’ on Leap Year Day. In this tradition, on February 29, only women propose to their partners for marriage.

In Finland, if a man does not accept a woman’s marriage proposal on this day, it is customary for the man to buy the woman a skirt.

Again, a leap day is considered inauspicious in many countries. For example, the leap year is considered inauspicious for marriage in Greece.

In Taiwan, leap years are considered inauspicious for older people. That is why, in Taiwan, it is customary for married girls to take care of their elderly parents for the whole month of February. In Taiwan, elderly people are served ‘pig trotter noodles’ for good health and good fortune.

In Scotland, the leap year is considered bad for livestock.

Since 1980, a newspaper called ‘La Bougie du Sapeur’ has been published only on Leap Day in France.

This is the world’s ‘Least Frequently Published’ newspaper. The tenth edition of this newspaper was published on Leap Day 2016.

In 1988, the city of Anthony, located on the border of New Mexico and Texas in the United States of America, was declared the ‘Leap Year Capital of the World’ by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. Every leap year is celebrated in this small town.

People born on leap day, i.e., February 29, are called ‘Leaping/Leaper’. Usually, every 4 years, they get a chance to celebrate their birthday on the actual day.

But in years other than leap years, they celebrate their birthdays on February 28/March 1, depending on the region. For determining the age of a person born on a leap day, February 28/March 1 is considered, depending on the country. For example, in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, when a person born on February 29 turns 18, March 1 of that year is officially considered their 18th birthday.

In Taiwan, February 28 is the official day.

Now let’s take a look at the births and deaths of famous people on February 29, i.e., Leap Day.

Born on February 29th:

John Byram (English poet and educator) in 1692;

Morarji Desai (former Prime Minister of India) in 1896;

Vance Hynes (American archaeologist, geologist) in 1928;

In 1936, Jack Robert Lowsma (American Northwest) and others.

Death on February 29:

Caspar Hennenberger (German historian and cartographer) in 1600;

John Desaguliers (French-English physicist and philosopher) in 1744;

Johann Eschenberg (German historian);

Edward Frederick Benson (English archaeologist), etc.

Final Talk

However, on February 29, i.e., Leap Year Day, Sir James Milne Wilson, the Scottish-Australian soldier, politician, and the eighth Premier of Tasmania, is immortalized in history. He was born on February 29, 1812, and died on February 29, 1880—that is, both birth and death occurred on leap days!