Leap years: list. History of occurrence and superstition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

2016 is a leap year. This is not such a rare occurrence, because every 4 years in February there is a 29th day. There are many superstitions associated with this year, but is it really so dangerous? Let's try to figure it out if leap years are different. The 21st century list of leap years follows the same principle as before.

Leap year definition

We all know that there are 365 days in a year, but sometimes there are 366. What does it depend on? First of all, it should be noted that we live according to the Gregorian calendar, in which ordinary years are those that contain 365 days, and leap years are those that are one day more, respectively, 366 days. This is because periodically in February there are not 28, but 29 days. This happens once every four years, and this very year is usually called a leap year.

How to determine a leap year

Those years, the numbers of which can be divided by the number 4 without a remainder, are classified as those that are called leap years. A list of them can be found in this article. Let's say the current year is 2016, if we divide it by 4, then we get a number without a remainder as a result of division. Accordingly, it is a leap year. In a normal year, there are 52 weeks and 1 day. Each subsequent year is shifted by one day in relation to the days of the week. After a leap year, the shift occurs immediately by 2 days.

The astronomical year is counted from the first day of the vernal equinox to the beginning of the next. This period, just, does not have exactly 365 days, which are indicated in the calendar, but somewhat more.

Exception

The exception is the zero years of centuries, that is, those that end with two zeros. But if such a year number can be divided without a remainder by 400, then it is also considered a leap year.

If we take into account that there are not exactly six hours in a year, the missing minutes also affect the calculation of time. It was calculated that for this reason, in 128 years, one extra day will run in this way. In this regard, it was decided that not every fourth year be considered a leap year, but to exclude from this rule those years that are a multiple of 100, except for those that are divisible by 400.

The history of the leap year

To be more precise, according to the Egyptian solar calendar introduced by Julius Caesar, there are not exactly 365 days in a year, but 365, 25, that is, plus another quarter of a day. The extra quarter of the day in this case is 5 hours 48 minutes and 45 seconds, which are rounded up to 6 hours, which is the fourth part of the day. But adding such a small unit of time eachonce a year is impractical.

In four years, a quarter of a day turns into a full day, which is added to the year. So February, which has fewer days than normal months, adds an extra day-and only in leap years does February 29th occur.

It was decided to adjust the calendar year in accordance with the astronomical one - this was done so that the seasons always come on the same day. Otherwise, the boundaries would have shifted over time.

Leap years: a list of years of the past and the 21st century. Example:

From the Julian calendar, we switched to the Gregorian, which differs from the previous one in that a leap year occurs once every four years, and according to the Julian - once every three years. The Russian Orthodox Church still lives according to the old style. It is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Hence the celebration of dates in the old and new style. So, Catholics celebrate Christmas according to the old style - December 25, and in Russia according to the Gregorian calendar - January 7.

Where did the fear of a leap year come from

The word "leap year" comes from the Latin phrase "bis sextus", which translates as "the second sixth".

Most people associate a leap yearyear with something bad. All these superstitions have gone back to ancient Rome. In the modern world, days are counted from the beginning of the month, but in ancient times it was different. They counted the days that remained until the beginning of the next month. Let's say if we say February 24, then the ancient Romans in this case used the expression "the sixth day before the beginning of March."

When it was a leap year, there was an extra day between February 24th and 25th. That is, in a normal year, there were 5 days left until March 1, and in a leap year it was already 6, which is why the expression “second sixth” went.

With the onset of March, the fast ended, which lasted five days, if you start from February 24, but when you add an extra day, the fast already lasted, respectively, 1 day longer. Therefore, they considered such a year to be bad - hence the superstition about the unluckyness of leap years.

Besides this, the superstition came from the fact that only in a leap year Kasyanov's Day is celebrated, which falls on February 29th. This holiday is considered mystical. In this regard, for a long time people have been trying not to do big things in such years, not to get married, not to have children, and so on. Despite the simplicity of the algorithm for determining a leap year, some may wonder: "What years are leap years?".

19th century leap years: list

1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1896.

Leap years of the 20th century: the list is as follows:

1904,1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19

What are leap years? The list of years of the current century will be constructed similarly to the previous ones. Let's get to know him. Leap years (list) of the 21st century will be calculated in the same way. That is, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, etc.

Signs associated with a leap year

This year, according to legend, you can not change the familiar environment. This can be understood as moving to a new place of residence, looking for a new job.

It was believed that marriages made in this year could not bring happiness, and weddings were not recommended.

You can't also do anything, start new things. This includes starting a business, building a house.

Let's answer the question about what years are leap years? List of 19th, 20th and 21st centuries:

It is better to postpone long trips and travels.

You can't celebrate a child's first tooth.

Since ancient times, such years were considered dangerous, bringing many deaths, diseases, wars and crop failures. People, especially superstitious ones, fear the onset of such a year, having already prepared in advance for the worst. But are they really that dangerous?

Opinion about established superstition

The Church does not see anything wrong with these years, explaining such a phenomenon as a leap year, just changes in the calendar that were once made. Based on statistics, such years are no different from ordinary ones. Evenif we take the issue of marriage in a leap year, which predicts a short marriage life, then the number of divorces of "leap marriages" is nothing more than among those couples who got married in ordinary years.