Ashura9
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- Oct 21, 2012
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Leap Day: February 29
A Leap Day, February 29, is added to the calendar during leap years. This extra day makes the year 366 days long – not 365 days, like a common year.
Traditionally, women take the ring into their own hands and propose on leap day.
©iStockphoto.com/AntonioGuillem
When Is the Next Leap Day?
2016 is a leap year, so the next leap day is
February 29, 2016.
The last Leap Day was on February 29, 2012.
Why Add a Leap Day?
Leap days are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the Sun.
It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds – to circle once around the Sun. This called a tropical year.
Without an extra – or intercalary – day on February 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days in relation to fixed seasonal days days like the vernal equinox or winter solstice.
Caesar Introduced Leap Years
Roman general Julius Caesar implemented the first leap day in his Julian Calendar, which he introduced in 45 BCE (Before Common Era). A leap day was added every four years. At the time, leap day was February 24, and Februarywas the last month of the year.
Leap year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Leap Day, February 29, is added to the calendar during leap years. This extra day makes the year 366 days long – not 365 days, like a common year.
Traditionally, women take the ring into their own hands and propose on leap day.
©iStockphoto.com/AntonioGuillem
When Is the Next Leap Day?
2016 is a leap year, so the next leap day is
February 29, 2016.
The last Leap Day was on February 29, 2012.
Why Add a Leap Day?
Leap days are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the Sun.
It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds – to circle once around the Sun. This called a tropical year.
Without an extra – or intercalary – day on February 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days in relation to fixed seasonal days days like the vernal equinox or winter solstice.
Caesar Introduced Leap Years
Roman general Julius Caesar implemented the first leap day in his Julian Calendar, which he introduced in 45 BCE (Before Common Era). A leap day was added every four years. At the time, leap day was February 24, and Februarywas the last month of the year.
Leap year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia