2016 is a leap year with 366 days instead of the usual 365. Leap year was proposed to synchronize calendars. Did you know that not every 4th year is a leap year?Why leap year is considered unlucky, and what signs are associated with this?Here are a few facts you may not know about leap year.
What does leap year mean?
1 . A leap year is a year that has 366 days rather than the usual 365. An additional day in a leap year is added in February - February 29 (leap day).
An additional 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 as it was once last months 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 year, multiple of 4 and multiple of 400, but not 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, 2096
February 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 very in a short month so that the fair sex can 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 fans in advance, the woman was supposed 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 . One in five couples in Greece avoid getting married on a leap year, as it is believed to brings bad luck.
In Italy it is believed that during a leap year the woman becomes unpredictable and at this time there is no need to plan important events. 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 famous people Those born on February 29 can name the poet Lord Byron, composer Gioachino Rossini, 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 correctly, you can celebrate while traveling from one country to another longest birthday in the world.
9. The city of Anthony in Texas, USA is a self-proclaimed " world capital of leap year". A festival is held here annually, where those born on February 29 gather from all over the world.
10. Record largest number of generations born on 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 the largest number of children born on 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 belief, 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, on a leap year you can't start anything. This applies to important matters, business, major purchases, investments and construction.
Is it possible to get married on a leap year?
Leap year is considered extremely unsuccessful 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 anyone they liked young man, who could not refuse the offer. Often such marriages were forced, and therefore family life didn't ask.
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 long dress for wedding, covering the knees to make the marriage last.
Wedding dress and other wedding accessories It is not recommended to give it to anyone.
The ring should be worn on the hand, not the glove., since wearing a ring on a glove will cause the spouses to take marriage lightly
To protect the family from troubles and misfortunes, a coin was placed in the shoes of the bride and groom.
What should you not do during a leap year?
· During a leap year don't carol on Christmastide, since it is believed that you can lose your happiness. Also, by sign, a caroler who dresses up as an animal or monster can take on the personality evil spirits.
· Pregnant women should not have their hair cut before giving birth, since the child may be born unhealthy.
· During a leap year do not start building a bathhouse, which can lead to illness.
· You can't pick mushrooms, as it is believed that they all become poisonous.
· In a leap year there is no need to celebrate the appearance baby's first tooth. According to legend, if you invite guests, your teeth will be bad.
· You can't change jobs or apartments. According to the sign, the new place will turn out to be joyless and turbulent.
· If a child is born on a leap year, it must be baptize as quickly as possible, and godparents to choose among blood relatives.
· Elderly people are not allowed buy things for the funeral in advance, as this can bring death closer.
· You can't get a divorce, because in the future you will not be able to find your happiness.
2018 will not be a leap year, because an additional 366 day, February 29, is added only once every four years. The previous leap year was 2016, which means the next one will only be in 2020.
All leap years are shown in the table below:
How many days in 2018
The question is how many days will there be in 2018 365 or 366 interests many. The number of days in a year determines the norms of working hours, the calculation of interest on loans and deposits, the calculation of salaries and much more. Since the year will not be a leap year, it means The duration of 2018 will be 365 days.
In addition, whether 2018 is a leap year or not is of interest to people who are inclined to believe in superstitions and folk signs. After all, popular wisdom claims that a leap year brings tragedies, illnesses, big and small troubles.
So, for example:
- February 29, the so-called Kasyanov day, is the worst day for the birth of a baby. Not only is someone born on this unlucky day predicted to have the same unfortunate fate, but they can also celebrate their birthday only once every four years!
- Extremely bad omen It is considered to be a wedding in a leap year. People say that such a family will not live together for long. the imminent breakdown of the family, betrayal and misfortune, even the death of the spouses.
- If a child was born in a leap year, the baptism ceremony must be performed as quickly as possible. In this case, godparents must be blood relatives.
2018 is the year of the widow or widower
Another one folk sign states that the year following a leap year will be the year of the widow, and the year of the widow will be the year of the widower. Since 2016 was a leap year, then 2018 is the year of the widower. That is, according to superstitions, in couples who get married during 2018, the man will remain a widower.
Modern astrologers and psychics categorically deny such signs and strongly advise young people to set a wedding date for 2018. After all, according to Chinese horoscope the coming year will be the year of the Dog, and this zodiac animal is a symbol home comfort and peace of mind.
Another “consolation” for people prone to superstition: there are no statistics that could confirm the facts about the years of a widow or widower. Also against such prejudices is Orthodox Church- the main guarantee of a strong family is mutual love and respect.
How to find out which year will be a leap year
Determining whether a leap year is or not is quite simple. You can, for example, remember which Last year was a leap year and count periods of four years, because it is with this frequency that a “leap year” occurs - every fourth year.
In addition, if you don’t remember when the leap year was, there is a simple rule by which you can calculate how many days there are 365 or 366 in a year:
If the year you are interested in can be divided by 4 without a remainder, then the year is a leap year and has 366 days. All other years are 365 days long and are not leap years.
As with every rule, there is an exception: years with trailing zeros are leap years only if they are a multiple of 400. That is, 2000 was a leap year, but 1900, 1800, 1700 were not.
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 one is added required condition: Every 3200th year must 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 Gregorian calendar will accumulate in about 10,000 years (in Julian - about 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.
A leap year gives rise to many superstitions and rumors, which mainly boil down to the fact that this year is unlucky and rich in negative events. Let's see if this is true.
Leap year: a little history
The word “leap year” is of Latin origin and translates as “second sixth.” According to Julian calendar, the year lasted 365.25 days, while each year the day shifted by 6 hours. Such an error could confuse the ancient men; to prevent this from happening, it was decided that every fourth year would consist of 366 days, and February would become one day longer. They called this year a leap year.
In Rus', there were many legends about the appearance of leap years, each of which was considered unlucky.
Legends about the appearance of a leap year in Rus'
February 29 is also called Kasyan's Day in honor of St. Kasyan. Being a bright angel, he was seduced by the tricks of evil spirits and went over to the side of the devil. However, he later repented and prayed to the Lord for mercy. Having mercy on the traitor, God assigned an angel to him. He chained Kasyan and, by order from above, beat him in the forehead with an iron hammer for 3 years, and released him on the fourth.
According to another legend, Kasyanov's day is his name day. However, each time the saint got dead drunk for three years and came to his senses only in the fourth year. That is why he is supposed to celebrate his day so rarely.
There is a third legend: walking along the road, St. Kasyan and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker met a peasant. He asked for help because his cart was stuck in the mud. To which Kasyan replied that he was afraid to stain his robe, and Nikolai helped. The saints came to heaven, God noticed that Nicholas' robe was dirty and asked what was the matter. The Wonderworker told him what happened. Then God noticed that Kasyan’s robe was clean and asked if they weren’t walking together? Kasyan replied that he was afraid of getting his clothes dirty. God realized that the saint was being disingenuous and made it so that his name day comes once every 4 years. And Nikolai’s name day for his kindness is twice a year.
Leap years were notorious in Rus': we will not continue the list of legends for long, here is one example: honest people tried to complete all their work before February 29. Many did not dare to leave the house, the sun on this day was called “The Eye of Kasyan”, they were afraid to get under the sun, so that Kasyan would not jinx them and send them illness and suffering.
Superstitions about leap year
As in ancient times, in modern world signs and superstitions are often found, not with the best side characterizing leap years (the list is given below):
- You need to hold off on getting married during a leap year. Such a marriage will not be durable, the young people will quarrel, and the newly created family will bring upon itself troubles and misfortunes.
- You need to put off selling, buying, exchanging real estate or building a house. Deals concluded this year will not be profitable and will inevitably lead to the ruin of the parties. But the new housing will not last long.
- Any undertaking is dangerous - changing jobs, moving, starting a business. The sign is understandable: the presence of a 29th day in one of the winter months can characterize the whole year as not being what it should be. Therefore, unsure of own strength It’s easier for a person to give up something new than to make an effort to start and develop a business.
- You cannot get pregnant and give birth, as the birth will be difficult and the baby may be born unhealthy. Or his life will be hard and joyless.
- A leap year “mows down” people, that is, it takes them away. It is generally accepted that mortality increases every fourth year, although this superstition is not statistically confirmed.
- You cannot pick mushrooms, eat them or sell them to people, so as not to raise something bad from the ground.
- It is believed that leap years entail natural disasters and disasters: fires, floods, drought.
What years are leap years? List of leap years in the 20th century
In the last century, as well as in the 21st century, leap years have made superstitious people afraid. A list of them is given below:
- 1900s: -00; -04; -08; -12, and so on, every fourth year.
- The year two thousand was also a leap year.
Leap years: 21st century list
To this day, many people wait with fear for a leap year, psychologically setting themselves up for trouble and explaining the misfortunes by the presence of an extra day in February.
Leap years, list since 2000: -04; -08; -12; -16, and then every fourth year.
Instead of a conclusion
According to statistics, only a small number of all troubles and disasters occur in leap years. The superstitions that exist to this day can be explained by the fact that people, closely following the troubles and misfortunes that happened during leap years, attached exaggerated importance to what was happening solely because of the unflattering glory of the latter.
People who believe too much in leap year superstitions would like to wish them to pay more attention to positive changes and events. And then, perhaps, a list of good omens will appear that will rehabilitate leap years.
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.