A leap year, or it is also called the word “leap year,” causes many rumors and superstitions, which mainly boil down to the fact that this year is unhappy and promises only negative events. In this article we will talk about how fair these opinions are.
A little history
The word “leap year” came to us from the Latin language, that is, it ancient origin, and its literal translation sounds like “second sixth”.
According to the Julian month, the Earth goes through its circle in 365.25 days, and every year the days shifted by 6 hours. Such an error could easily confuse ancient men, and in order to avoid this, it was decided that after every fourth year another day would be added to the annual circle. Accordingly, this year will include 366 days, and they will be added in the shortest month - February, it will consist of 29 days. To distinguish it, it was called a leapfrog.
On Ancient Rus', in turn, there were many legends about the occurrence of leap years, and each of them, even then, was perceived as necessarily unlucky. Legends about the arrival of the new calendar and the leap year in Rus' were also reflected in the Saints. So, February 29 is dedicated to the memory of St. Kasyan, and people call it Kasyan’s Day. Several legends and apocrypha (stories that are not recognized by the church as confirmed and consistent with what we know about God) are dedicated to this day. But it sheds light on the origin bad reputation Leap Years
According to this legend, Kasyan appears to the common people not as a man, but as an angel, and a fallen one, who was once seduced by Satan, as a result of which he fell away from God. However, later he realized how wrong he was, repented and prayed to the Creator for mercy. Taking pity on the traitor, God, before accepting him back, assigned His angel to him. The celestial being shackled Kasyan and, by order from above, beat him on the forehead with a metal hammer to bring him to his senses for 3 years, and on the fourth he freed him.
The second legend about Kasyan
According to the second legend Kasyan is a person, and Kasyanov’s day is the date of his name day. However, according to the legend, that man systematically drank himself to death for three years in a row, but on the fourth he came to his senses, repented, gave up his addiction, turned to repentance and became a saint - he acquired the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the people believed, it was appropriate for him to celebrate his day so rarely - only on February 29.
The third legend about Kasyan
This legend is dedicated to Saint Kasyan, who travels across the earth, and Nicholas the Wonderworker, well known to Christians. And then they meet a man along the way. He asked them for help because his cart was stuck in the mud. Kasyan responded to this that he was careful not to spoil his clean robe, but Nikolai, not afraid of the dirt, immediately helped. The saints returned to the Kingdom of God, and the Creator noticed that Nicholas’s robe was dirty and asked him what was causing it.
The saint told him what happened on the way. Then the Lord noticed that Kasyan’s clothes were clean and asked the question: were they really traveling together? Kasyan replied that he was afraid to stain his clothes. God realized that Cosmas was being cunning, and arranged it in such a way that his name day is celebrated once every 4 years. And Nikolai’s name day for his meekness is twice in 365 days.
Anyway , whatever it may be, the leap was recognized as bad. Therefore, the superstitious Russian people tried to somehow protect themselves from this day.
- I tried to finish all important things before the 29th of February.
- Some did not dare leave the house.
- On February 29, if the sun came out, it was called Kasyan's Eye or Kasyanov's Eye. Then they tried not to get under the sun, so that the saint wouldn’t jinx them! And he did not bring suffering and illness to the poor man.
As in ancient times, in today's world we often come across superstitions and signs that are not with the best side determine leap years of the 21st century. We will list some of them:
Why is a leap year considered bad?
Similar attitude It’s quite understandable: the appearance of the 29th day in February characterizes the whole year as being different from others and psychologically sets it apart from others. This can be important for people who are unsure of their abilities. It will be much easier for him, citing this special period, to refuse something new than to expend energy for self-development or starting some kind of business.
For the same reason, it will be easier not to get pregnant, so as not to give birth later, because there is an increased fear that the birth will be difficult, the baby may be born sick. And if not, then suddenly his life will turn out to be joyless or difficult.
Our inventive people see and the threat in the very name of the leap, saying that it “mows down” people, in other words, takes them away, leads to death. Therefore, the holiday is celebrated with caution (or, conversely, on a special scale - you never know who will die...). This is a very common belief that tries to creep into statistics. It is becoming accepted that the mortality rate increases every 4th year. At the same time, these data are in no way confirmed by the statistics themselves.
You can’t pick mushrooms either, much less eat them or sell them to people. No, not so as not to be poisoned, but so that “bad soil” does not bring “anything bad” to a person.
It is believed that the leap year entails natural disasters and all kinds of disasters: drought, floods, fires.
Which years are leap years?
In the last century, as well as in the current one, such calendar periods also caused horror. A list of them can be seen in the image or found on the Internet. Also, the year 2000, the same millennium, in turn was a leap year, opening the whole millennium.
Despite the fact that with the development of technology, information has become more accessible and it is possible to learn more and expand one’s horizons, getting rid of primitive fears, many continue to anxiously await the leap, internally preparing themselves for problems and troubles, and when they come (if they come), it is perceived as doomed: well, it’s a leap year... An extra day in February. Deadly!
There are special calendars that indicate when exactly the leap year occurs. It is enough to look carefully at the table and find (or not find) the current figures there. It is enough to know at least one leap year, after which you can calculate them yourself using elementary arithmetic. Let's say you're interested in leap years in the 21st century. Find the calendar and view it. Having learned that 2016 is a leap year, it is easy to understand that the next year will come in 2020.
If you trust statistics, a very small number of all disasters and troubles occur on leap years. The superstitions that exist today can be interpreted by the fact that people who closely followed the misfortunes and troubles that occurred during leap years gave an exaggerated meaning to what was happening only because of the unflattering reputation of the latter. I would like to wish people who highly trust superstitions about leap years to pay more attention to positive events and changes. And then, perhaps, a list of good and joyful signs will be collected that will restore the reputation of the 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 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 from the date of approval Gregorian calendar years have already passed.
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.
In the Julian and Gregorian calendars, a leap year is a year that consists of 366 days. Thus, it differs from the usual one by the presence of an “extra” day. In the Julian calendar, every fourth year is a leap year. As for the Gregorian, its approach to determining a leap year is similar, but with a few exceptions.
What are leap years in the Gregorian calendar?
To be considered a leap year, the year number must first be divisible by four. Regarding zero years, from which centuries begin, they are considered leap years only if their number is a multiple of 400. So, for example, the year 2000 is a leap year, while the year 1900 is not.
Regarding the question of how many days are there in a leap year, the most widely used Gregorian calendar in the world contains 366 days. The “extra” day is February 29th. Thus, people born on this day officially celebrate their birthday once every four years. This interesting feature leap years.
Where does the extra day come from?
Our planet constantly revolves around its celestial body - the Sun. The Earth completes a full rotation in 365 days and several hours. This period of time is called a “year”. For ease of calculation, the “extra” few hours are not taken into account for three years. In the fourth year, the additional hours are added up and, as a result, you get an “extra” day, which is usually added to every fourth February.
Leap years: list for the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
Taking into account the above-mentioned rules for determining leap years, it is possible to form a list of them over the past centuries. So, in the 19th century these were: 1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896.
In the 20th century leap years, respectively, were 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980 , 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996.
As for the 21st century, in which we are all lucky to live, the leap years were 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012. The next leap year will be 2016.
The mysticism of leap year
Despite the fact that the origin and features of leap years have long been studied and are absolutely clear, many people are wary of their arrival. It just so happens that a leap year is considered something strange and in some places even dangerous. However, if you analyze history, in ordinary years there were no less different kinds of cataclysms and negative events than on leap days. Therefore, you should not attach any special significance to leap years.
February 29 is one of the most mysterious phenomena for many. Do you know that not every 4th year is a leap year, and in history there is also a February 30th? No? Then read our material. “The First Smolensky” understood the scientific and historical foundations of what was happening, as well as the human prejudices associated with it.
Gregorian and Julian calendars. What is the difference?
In 45 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar, later called the Julian. Together with the astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar came to amazing discovery– the astronomical year lasts 365 and 6 hours. Later, scientists will find out that during this time the Earth makes a full revolution around the Sun and it, as it turns out, is not a multiple of the number of revolutions of the planet around its axis (that is, it is not equal to the whole number of days).
Thus, in order to compensate for the day that accumulates over 4 years, it was decided to increase every fourth year in the calendar by one day. In principle, it could have been any other day - summer, spring or autumn, but it was decided to stop at February 29, and not, say, December 32.
It must be said that Caesar miscalculated a little and set every third year to be a leap year. Only 36 years after his death, Emperor Augustus corrected the unfortunate mistake.
The situation with leap years is even more interesting in the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII on October 4, 1582. In this calendar, the length of the year is slightly shorter and equal to 365.2425 days, that is, it contains 97 leap days for every 400 years. The Gregorian calendar has a rule: a year whose number is a multiple of 400 is a leap year, and other years whose number is a multiple of 100 are not leap years. All years whose number is a multiple of 4, but not included in the previous group, are leap years.
The difference in counting leap years is the main difference between the two calendars. Orthodox Christians live according to the Julian calendar, Catholics live according to the Gregorian calendar. That is why, speaking of Russian Empire and chronology, there are concepts of old and new styles. For example, 1900 is a non-leap year according to the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year according to the Julian calendar. Today the difference between the calendars is 13 days and continues to increase.
The Gregorian calendar is much more accurate than the Julian calendar: it gives a much better approximation of the tropical year (the period of time during which the sun completes one cycle of seasons). Today the entire secular world lives according to the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, it is incorrect to assume that every fourth year is a leap year. The counting system is somewhat more complicated.
In 1699, the Kingdom of Sweden decided to keep up with world trends and switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. To do this, it was proposed to skip leap years for 40 years in order to equalize the calendar difference (at that time it was 10 days). But something went wrong and 1704 and 1708 were leap years in Sweden. In 1712, it was decided to abandon the reform altogether. Then, in order to return to the Julian calendar, another day was added in February 1712. This is how February 30 appeared in Sweden.
In 1929, it was decided to introduce the Soviet revolutionary calendar in the USSR, where each month lasted 30 days, and each week lasted 5 days. The remaining 5 or 6 (for leap days) days in the year were called unnamed holidays. The idea was abandoned already in 1931. Moreover, February 30 also appeared in the Soviet calendar twice (1930 and 1931).
Some scientists believe that due to the error of the Gregorian calendar, February 30 will also have to be introduced in 3328 to equalize calendar year with tropical. However, other scientists, on the contrary, believe that the day should be taken away, not added.
Leap-year prejudices
There is a sign that every leap year must be very difficult and even unsuccessful. It turns out that in many ways this is an exclusively Russian tradition. The fact is that February 29 is Kasyan’s day. The attitude of the Orthodox towards this saint is very ambiguous. Kasyan, one of the followers of Christ, refused to help the farmer pull out the stuck cart, which Christ asked him to do. This was done by Nikolai, who was walking nearby. And then Christ said: “You have done a good deed, Nikolai. People will remember you twice a year - in May and December. And you, Kasyan, for not helping, will be remembered only once every four years.” In some areas, Kasyan is not even revered as a saint, and his name is considered disgraceful. It is believed that it was precisely this attitude of the people towards Kasyan that created the negative image of February 29 and the leap year in general.
Another interesting fact– in Scotland, during a leap year, it is not men who woo women, but vice versa.
For centuries, humanity has created a history that has been passed down from generation to generation. Myths or reality about the leap year that have survived to this day make everyone think about this inexplicable fact.
What is a leap year?
The term "leap year" in Latin has a numerical value - 2nd/6th. It represents, from a scientific point of view, the fourth year exceeding the standard number of days (366).
Leap year historical period
During the reign of Yu. Caesar, the Roman calendar had an additional repeated day, with one date (the twenty-fourth of February).
The Romans counted days and years by looking at the Julian Calendar.
In the Julian calendar, every fourth year was considered a leap year, and the last two days of February were on the same date.
After the death of the Roman ruler, the priests deliberately began to call the third year a leap year. There was a shift in the annual time and people, for this reason, lived as many as twelve leap years.
Thanks to the decree of the new emperor in Rome - Augustus Octavian, everything fell into place. It took sixteen whole years to establish the correct “leap time”.
Sixteen centuries later Orthodox Church reintroduced new changes to the calendar.
Chapter catholic church dad Gregory XIII made a proposal to calculate the calendar according to new rules. He proposed introducing an additional day in February with a different date (the twenty-ninth of February). On general meeting, before the upcoming Easter, the idea of the head of the Catholic Church was successfully accepted. The Roman calendar had a new chronology. In honor of the ruler of the Catholic Church, it began to be called “Gregorian”.
Modern concept of leap year
It is a well-known fact that a year consists of 365 days. The subsequent fourth year is considered a leap year. It is longer by one day.
In a leap year, February has not twenty-eight days, but twenty-nine, but this phenomenon happens once every four years.
Leap year signs and superstitions
Our Slavic ancestors thought that leap year was a mystical, superstitious year. Probably the reason lies in the distant story of Saint Kasyan.
Saint Kasyan served in the Galilean monastery and was its founder. He became famous through his writing, writing twenty-four essays on the “Interview”, based on a moral, Christian attitude towards faith.
The main flaw in the life of Saint Kasyan was that the date of his birth fell on the last day of February, and even at the end of the year.
According to Slavic belief, the last day of the year was considered the end of a harsh winter. For this reason, the holy monk gained notoriety.
Superstitious Slavs considered the last day of a leap year to be the most difficult. They believed in evil spirits and evil spirits. This is where people's fear of leap years came from.
The signs of a leap year were associated with Saint Kasyan:
- If Kasyan approached the people, the disease attacked them.
- Kasyan was close to the animals - their death was inevitable.
- Wherever Kasyan’s gaze falls, there will be trouble and devastation.
- Kasyanov's year is approaching unsuccessfully - barren.
According to legend, you don’t need to do a lot of things during a leap year, for example:
- Play weddings
- Plan pregnancy, give birth to children
- Create new projects
- Go to the forest to pick mushrooms
- Cut hair
- File for divorce
- Borrow money
- Plant new seeds
- Do renovations indoors
- Purchasing real estate
Leap year approaching modern society causes mixed opinions. One part of society believes in his negative actions, the other does not.
The downside of a leap year:
- Natural disasters
- Disasters
- Military conflicts
- Frequent accidents
- Lost
- Fires
The positive side of a leap year
People born in a leap year are creative and talented. Endowed with bright charisma, strong character, love of life (Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Gauguin).
Today, leap year is perceived as a year of disasters, wars, and disasters. After all, the most terrible events occurred during this period.
People are susceptible to believing something, and most often it is bad. Leap year is perceived as a time of loss, disappointment, and sadness. Is it so? You only have to ask yourself.
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