What is a leap year for children? Leap year: signs and superstitions

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 full turn It takes just over 365 days to go around the Sun, or more precisely 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 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, 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 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 during this time. 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 forces. 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 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. Record the largest number generations born on Leap Day belong 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.
Also, it is not recommended to change anything during a leap year, as this will not bring desired result and can even become destructive. 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 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 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, by sign, a caroler who dresses up as an animal or monster can take on the personality evil spirits.
· 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 bleak and restless.
· If a child is born on 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.

We all know that a normal year consists of 365 days, but there is also a leap year, which includes 366 days. It occurs once every four calendar years, and the month of February in such a year includes one more day. But few people wonder why such a year is called a leap year, and today we will tell you about the origin of this name.

Origin of the name "Leap" year

As is the case with many other names known today, the origin of “Leap” Year has its origins in Latin. This year has long been called “Bis Sextus”. The Latin translation of this name means “Second Sixth”.

It is worth noting that such a calculation of time was introduced by the Romans, and in the Roman calendar BC, days were not counted in the same way as they do today. The Romans were accustomed to counting days in terms of the number of days remaining until the next month. The Romans inserted an extra day between February 23 and 24. February 24 itself was called “sectus,” which meant “the sixth day before the beginning of March.” In a leap year, when an additional day was inserted between February 23 and 24, February 24 occurred twice, which was called “bis sectus”, as we already noted - the “Second Sixth” day.

It is easy to understand that “Bis sectus” in the Slavic sense can be easily converted into “leap year”, because these names are consonant. However, in modern Gregorian calendar an additional day, as is known, is inserted not between February 23 and 24, but after February 28. So, once every four years, we have the opportunity to observe wall calendars, calendars in our computers and smartphones, the day is February 29th.

Why do we need a leap year?

Having figured out why a leap year is called that, it is also necessary to take a short excursion into why such a year exists at all and why it was introduced.

We all know that a normal year consists of 365 days, we are used to it, and we do not doubt this statement for a second. However, in reality it is not entirely correct, since each year is equal to 365.4 days, that is, 365 days and 6 hours. Of course, such a calculation of time is very inconvenient, and it certainly leads to certain shifts in people’s perception of the flow of time. That is why scientific astronomers decided to calculate each multiple of four years in the amount of 366 days (using 4 excerpts of 6 hours from other years), and all the rest - 365 days exactly.

Every 4 years, humanity lives in a leap year. It was this year, in February, magically becomes 29 days.

There are many signs and beliefs associated with it, many of which have pagan roots, but there are also Christian elements. Sometimes, it comes to the point that during a leap year people give up such usual activities as a seaside holiday or regular trips to the country.

What is a leap year and how valid are the signs associated with it?

Leap year: where did the extra day come from?

Do you think that the Earth makes a full revolution in exactly 365 days? No, this is not so - the Earth makes a full circle around the Sun a little longer, namely, 365 days and 6 hours.

In other words, every year an extra quarter of a day is added. Over the course of 4 years, such quarters equal 24 hours. So it turns out that a year that is divisible by 4 (2008, 2012, 2016, the leap year calendar is based on this principle) is different from the rest.

The leap year is designed to eliminate this surplus and bring balance to the calendar. If not for a leap year, then in a couple of centuries New Year would have been transported to the beginning of March, and this is quite serious!

Leap year differences

The differences between a leap year and other years, from a material point of view, are limited only by the number of days. In addition, people have to work one more day. Sometimes, however, it turns out to rest once again, but this happens quite rarely.

From an astrological point of view, during the Earth's path around the Sun in a leap year, there is a large number of troubles:

people's everyday problems;
man-made disasters;
natural disasters;
relatively high mortality rate.

However, one can argue with the latter - there are no comments from funeral service workers about the increase in mortality. Only slightly more elderly people die.

Leap year: greetings from Antiquity

For the first time, the ancient Romans became concerned with the problem of the calendar not corresponding to the real flow of time. In this country, it was forbidden to transfer significant dates to another time of the year. People were guided by the movement of the Sun across the sky.

Guy Julius Caesar solved the problem quickly and radically - from the moment of his reign, people began to live according to the Julian calendar, which added one day to February every 4 years. The transition to the new calendar began gradually, not everyone accepted it, but time took its toll.

Over time, the pagan calendar migrated to Christian culture. But in some regions this year is associated with Kasyan Visokos, one of the saints, the patron saint of monasticism.

Allegedly, he binge-drinks for three years, and after 4 years he comes out of the drinking binge and takes it out on people for the fact that his day is celebrated only once every 4 years.

Here, however, there is a problem - a Christian saint, by definition, cannot be a binge drunkard, plus there is no record in the church that Visokos likes to drink.

Signs and beliefs associated with leap year

Nowadays, leap year is treated relatively simply, but in the past, some people were afraid to leave the house on February 29th during a leap year. For example, there was a superstition that if you were very cold on this day, and at the end of February the frosts could be severe, then a person would certainly catch a severe cold and die.

The same applies to livestock. Popular belief says that any mistake in caring for pets on this day can cost the animals their lives. For example, malnutrition or overfeeding.

Starting a new business in a leap year special success, By folk beliefs, can't bring it.

Everything is bound to go awry: even if a person builds a house, or even opens a business. In addition, all major matters should be postponed at least until February 29 - this time is considered the most unfortunate since the beginning of the year.

To appease Visokos a little, you need to do the following:

when the chimes strike, throw a glass of vodka out of the window (other alcohol will do, but it must be strong);
drink without clinking glasses when it is exactly midnight;
If you do end up clinking glasses, then before you take a sip, you need to put the glasses on the table.

According to popular belief, Visokos's anger will subside a little before the completion of the next track around the Sun.

Another one interesting sign associated with collecting the gifts of nature. Usually, picking mushrooms and berries is difficult on February 29, but things found on the street, for example, money, can bring trouble if they get into the house.

And if at the same time the dog howls (Dog Day on February 29 is itself a bad sign), then disaster is guaranteed. You need to ignore him, saying, “Forget me.”

Leap year prohibitions

Since this year is so unlucky, people have come up with many prohibitions, by observing which you can ward off trouble from your home. By the way, nature also “participates” in these prohibitions.

For example, according to the recollections of old-timers, in leap years there is usually a weak apple harvest.

So, what not to do in a leap year:

You can't sing carols at baptism. This ritual itself is relatively associated with evil spirits, and once every four years they are especially “attentive” to people. It's better not to attract any rubbish. So no matter how many sweets people offer, it is better to avoid carols.
It is not recommended to sell products produced on your own farm. It is believed that happiness and wealth leave the house with them.
You shouldn’t show your baby’s first erupted tooth to anyone, except perhaps your closest relatives. If you break the ban, the child will have crooked teeth.
You cannot start new big things, including getting married. Everything will go wrong, this has already been discussed above.
You can’t buy “coffin things.” It sounds strange, but for some older people it is the norm to buy things for their funeral. Such an action during a leap year will hasten death.
Women are strictly prohibited from dyeing their hair. This can lead to the lady going bald.
Changing your place of work or place of residence is prohibited. A person simply will not get accustomed to a new place; he will have to start everything from scratch (this point is sometimes impossible, because there are different circumstances in life).

Having children joins this forbidden group, but not everyone takes this restriction seriously.

Maybe this all sounds archaic, but the fact remains that people often complain to astrologers and psychics about misfortunes that began precisely after violating such prohibitions.

Conclusion - until the Earth makes a full revolution around the Sun in a leap year, some activities should be abandoned.

What do astrologers think?

In 2016, I made an anonymous personal calendar for a young man. He was going to start a new business project, but numerology showed that the undertaking would not only be extremely unsuccessful, but could even lead to the death of my client.

Unfortunately, he didn’t listen to me, he did the opposite. The result is deplorable - although he remained alive, he lost everything to the last penny, and is now starting a new life.

Surprisingly, most of these calendars are for different people, made in leap years, showed similar results. I don’t really believe in the involvement of negative entities in the problems, but the influence of the planets in these years is extremely negative.

The leap year should pass calmly and without unnecessary movements, I can tell you that for sure!

Irina, Moscow

All the predictions I made for people wanting to get married on a leap year didn't say anything good. This time is a time of failures, misunderstandings, conflicts and contradictions, what kind of marriage can we talk about?

At the same time, many of these “weds” separated even before the wedding. Since 2016, only 5-10% of those families have survived.

Mortality, by the way, is also increasing! Older people die in droves during leap years. Pray more often, don't get angry higher power! And go to church, every 7 days or so.

Svyatoslav, Yaroslavl

I believe that leap year is a pagan Slavic belief. The ancestors endowed February with demonic power and feared it like fire.

So this belief has come to us in a greatly modified form. There's nothing wrong with a leap year, but a little care still wouldn't hurt.

Irma, Moscow

High mortality, that's what a leap year is. It is rare to make favorable forecasts at this time.

Basically, people have some problems to solve. I advise you not to violate the leap year prohibitions and undergo purification rituals more often.

Svetlana, Samara

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" Latin origin, translated 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.

For people who believe too much in leap year superstitions, I 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 tropical year 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.