Why is the year called a leap year and why is an extra day needed every four years? Facts and signs about leap year that you didn't know about
Since ancient times, various disasters, catastrophes, illnesses and pestilence have been attributed to the leap year. It is assumed that the year is bad “thanks to” Saint Kasyan. The extra day on the calendar is precisely his birthday. However, he is often not considered a saint. In Dahl's dictionary he has many epithets: saint Kasyan, envious, vindictive, stingy, unkind.
One day a man asked Kasyan and Nikola to help pull out a cart that had gotten stuck in the autumn off-road. Kasyan refused, but Nikola helped. Before God in paradise, Kasyan justified himself by saying that he was embarrassed, they say, to dirty his paradise dress. As punishment for Kasyan, the Lord ordered prayer services to be served only once every 4 years, and the responsive, albeit dirty Nikola - as much as 2 times a year.
There are other versions on the topic of Kasyan’s badness. For example, this: for three years in a row Kasyan drinks heavily, and on the fourth he celebrates his birthday sober. Russia has 3 more leap years than Europe or America. And here we are special. The fact is that in our country the Gregorian calendar was introduced only in 1918, while other countries lived according to it already from 1582. Until 1918, we lived according to the Julian calendar. The difference between these calendars is small: according to the Gregorian calendar, years that end in “00” and are not divisible by 400 are not leap years. And if 1600 was a leap year for everyone, then 1700, 1800 and 1900 were only for Russia .
If it's all just a matter of arithmetic, why are we so afraid of an extra day? The cause of our fears is ourselves. There is no such thing as a “leap year” in nature. It was invented by people. It's all psychology. When it is firmly in your subconscious that a leap year is more unlucky than all others, you will inevitably expect trouble from it.
The Ostankino Tower burned down - what can you do, it's a leap year. And if trouble happens in a normal year, we rejoice: thank God it’s not a leap year, otherwise it would have been even worse. According to statistics, since 1900, only one of the most notorious tragedies occurred in a leap year - the sinking of the Titanic.
In general, during this period, the United States is in first place in terms of the number of high-profile disasters, with 7 such significant disasters recorded there. Second place is shared by China and Russia (USSR) - 5 tragedies. The main factors are earthquakes and man-made disasters. But here, too, not the majority of cataclysms occur in leap years. Even solar activity does not fit into the leap year framework. The cycle is 11 years. True, solar activity has a vague character: plus or minus two years. And yet this influence is confirmed by statistics, in contrast to the four-year cycle.
According to church representatives, leap years are not distinguished by any bloodthirsty features and do not bring crop failures and wars to people. In any case, no more than ordinary years. And don’t blame Saint Kasyan for everything. There are no unmerciful saints. The role of a saint is to protect his neighbors and help them in troubles and misfortunes. The Church generally has a negative attitude towards everything connected with signs and superstitions.
But no matter what the church claims, there are still statistics of disasters. Current year has already shown his character. The southern regions of Germany were flooded with rain, and the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano awoke in Kamchatka.
Of all the disasters of previous years, the most memorable are the fire in Ostankino and the sinking of the Kursk submarine, and the explosion in the underground passage on Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow. These events took place in 2000. In the same year, the legendary Concorde airliner, which until then was considered the most reliable, crashed in Paris, killing 109 people. Isn't this an indicator?
1996 The collision of a Kazakh Il-76 and a Boeing 747 resulted in the death of 372 people.
The year 1988 was marked by the famous earthquake in Armenia, killing 23 thousand people. 1948 - a strong earthquake occurred in Ashgabat. In 1912, the Titanic sank.
But still, the most terrible and bloody upheavals in the history of the last century and major disasters and shocks such as the terrorist bombing of the World shopping center in New York (2001), two coups in Russia (1991, 1993); accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant(1986) or the sinking of the ferry Estonia (1994) did not occur in leap years.
So, maybe there is no magic of numbers after all?
Every 4 years we are faced with the fact that in February instead of the standard 28 days there are 29. A leap year is coming. This is due to the fact that the Earth rotates around the sun slightly faster than 365 days. To compensate for this phenomenon, a leap year was invented and put into practice, which lasts 366 days by adding an extra day in February.
When is a leap year, how to determine
The determination methods are quite simple and accessible to anyone. They do not require any serious mathematical preparation:
2. A leap year is always divisible by 4 without a remainder. Let's assume that 2012 is a leap year, since 2012:4=503.0, that is, the remainder of the division is 0.
3. You can look at the calendar for the year under study and compare it with the next one by days of the week. If the interval is 1 day, then the analyzed time interval is not a leap year - its length is 52 weeks and 1 day; if the interval is 2 days, then, accordingly, it is a leap year.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes, they do exist. For a more complete harmonization of astronomical and calendar year it was decided not to make leap years those years that end in 00, that is, the beginning of each century. But there is an exception here: every 4th of these years (ending in 00 - 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400, ...) are also leap years.
List of leap years
1764, 1768, 1772, 1776, 1780, 1784, 1788, 1792, 1796, 1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 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, 2080, 2084, 2088, 2092, 2096, 2104, 2108, 2112, 2116, 2120, 2124, 2128, 2132
History of appearance
The very concept of a leap year appeared in those days when scientists proved that the astronomical year has 365 days and approximately 5 hours and 49 minutes. This happened under Julius Caesar, who was known as a fairly progressive ruler. Since then, 1 extra day has been added to the calendar.
The ancient Romans counted the days until the beginning of the next month, and we count the days elapsed from the beginning of the current month. Let's say February 22 is the 22nd day of the month for us, but for the Romans it was the 6th day before the start of the new month. In a leap year there were two 6th days in February. “Second sixth” is from Latin and gives the name “leap year”.
The next stage was the Julian calendar, where every third year became a leap year. By the way, these days holidays are determined by it. We use the Gregorian calendar, and every fourth year is a leap year.
Superstitions and fears
People generally believe that leap years are very unfortunate, and sometimes tragic. This year was also considered bad by the Romans, who, because of the “sixth day,” increased their fast by one day (lasted until the beginning of March). The mysticism was added by the odious holiday “Kasyanov’s Day”, which was already celebrated by our ancestors. It was set for February 29.
It is believed that on Leap Day it is extremely undesirable to radically change your usual way of life: get married, move, change jobs, have children, especially your first child.
There are many superstitions about certain events. A leap year is a year whose duration is 366 days instead of the usual 365. It would seem that they change one extra day, but esotericists attribute mystical properties to them. Accidents and troubles that happen are why a leap year is considered bad.
Since ancient times, people have been surrounded by various superstitions. Even during pagan times, time was perceived as a good and bad phenomenon. If it was a period of change, then the changes were considered to be influenced by evil. Sacred meaning endowed the last day of winter:
- transition to summer;
- the beginning of a new agricultural cycle;
- the end of the old one.
The Slavs celebrated New Year March 1 and even the periods lived were counted according to “spring”: it’s not for nothing that “peers” are people born in the same year.
The last day of winter is the most dangerous. From a mythological point of view, winter lengthens every four years and on February 29 receives special mystical rights. In people's perception, the entire period becomes unfavorable. It is believed that at this time there is a massive pestilence of livestock, wars, epidemics and other troubles.
The situation did not change with the advent of Christianity. St. Kasyan's Day was celebrated on February 29. People transferred their prejudices to him and represented him as angry, envious and harmful person. They endowed his appearance with deformities. Special signs appeared: “Wherever Kasyan looks, everything withers” and others. To avoid misfortune, people tried not to leave their houses and not let their livestock out.
Representations in the modern world
Today people are no less susceptible various superstitions. Many well-known predictors make various warnings about the upcoming leap year. Possible list of incidents:
- disasters;
- natural disasters;
- disasters.
If we look at world history, we can find ample evidence of the dangers of leap periods. So in 2000, there was a fire on the TV tower, the Kursk submarine sank and an airliner crashed near Paris.
It is not recommended to propose marriage this year. Any new beginnings will end in failure. This also applies to marriage. There is a popular belief that anyone who gets married in the year of Kasyan will definitely become a widower. Few people know whether it is possible to get divorced during a leap year. This is not recommended, as the person will be unhappy in the new relationship or will remain lonely.
Disturbances in the geomagnetic environment and homeostatic field are why leap years are difficult. This affects sensitive people and they may experience aggression or fatigue.
Behavior rules
During a leap year, you should adhere to certain prohibitions. This will avoid many problems. Troubles are easier to prevent.
A change of place of residence threatens the disruption of all plans and the appearance of obstacles - that’s why you can’t move during a leap year. Experienced magicians do not advise starting to build housing, as this will certainly end in an accident. Buying real estate will not bring results. A person will only lose money and time. Moving will also bring Negative consequences. Selling the apartment or renovating it is also not worth it. Any changes will turn against a person: low-quality materials, the appearance of scammers, etc.
Some people wonder whether it is possible to buy a car during a leap year. Experienced magicians do not advise doing this. It's all about Kasyan. He patronizes envious people and evil people, they can ruin your purchase.
The hardest thing about having children is that you can’t order them not to show up at a certain time. People have an ambiguous opinion about those born at such a time. Some consider such children to be chosen and talented, others to be unhappy and with a difficult fate.
Those born on February 29 appear with the gift of a sorcerer or witch. They are connected with the other world. Because of their special gift of foreseeing the future, people avoid meeting them.
Pregnant women should not cut their hair until after childbirth - this protects the baby from misfortunes and diseases. You should not celebrate the appearance of your child’s first tooth, otherwise they will be crooked and sick. Those born in Kasyanovo time need to be baptized quickly.
Ways to protect yourself from trouble
A well-chosen talisman will protect against the evil eye. Regular showers before bed washes away negative energy. You must wear a cross.
You can pay off the lack of money by giving away the third one killed (in reality modern world- bought) bird for a neighbor. So Kasyan receives a kind of sacrifice.
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 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.
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.
