Do you remember what kind of day it is today? You do? Sure, it is the 29th of February, the date, which occurs once in four years due to the existence of leap years. Especially those who are born this day, have been looking forward to celebrate their real birthday for three years!!! Now you have a chance to do your best, get presents, warm words and plenty of positive emotions, because it is only your day, and you have the right to enjoy it in full!
And what about a leap year in general? According to Wikipedia, February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.
Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.
The leap day was introduced as part of the Julian reform. The day following the Terminalia (23 February) was doubled, forming the so-called "bis sextum". The first day of the bis sextum (February 24) came to be regarded as the intercalated or "bissextile" day. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages. It’s worth mentioning that in the European Union, February 29 officially became the leap day only in 2000.
People were always interested in different traditions and superstitions connected with the leap year and the leap day. There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only in leap years, further restricted in some cases to only February 29. There is a tradition that in 1288 the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year; few parliament records of that time exist, and none concern February 29. Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland.
A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they may celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are not so many people born on the 29th of February. They say there are about 4 million of leaplings in the world. Among those people are Gioacchino Rossini (Italian composer), Pepper Martin (baseball player), Dinah Shore (American singer), Jaguar (Brazilian cartoonist) and many other people. Whether the date of birth influenced their life or not is difficult to say. Even if it does, let’s hope, in a positive way. Happy birthday, leaplings!!!!
And what about a leap year in general? According to Wikipedia, February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.
Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.
The leap day was introduced as part of the Julian reform. The day following the Terminalia (23 February) was doubled, forming the so-called "bis sextum". The first day of the bis sextum (February 24) came to be regarded as the intercalated or "bissextile" day. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages. It’s worth mentioning that in the European Union, February 29 officially became the leap day only in 2000.
People were always interested in different traditions and superstitions connected with the leap year and the leap day. There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only in leap years, further restricted in some cases to only February 29. There is a tradition that in 1288 the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year; few parliament records of that time exist, and none concern February 29. Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland.
A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they may celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are not so many people born on the 29th of February. They say there are about 4 million of leaplings in the world. Among those people are Gioacchino Rossini (Italian composer), Pepper Martin (baseball player), Dinah Shore (American singer), Jaguar (Brazilian cartoonist) and many other people. Whether the date of birth influenced their life or not is difficult to say. Even if it does, let’s hope, in a positive way. Happy birthday, leaplings!!!!
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