Leap years: February 24 is actually February 29

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Leap day is actually an additional day of the year. It takes the Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 45.252 seconds to orbit the sun. But a calendar year only lasts 365 days, so it’s about a quarter day shorter. If there were no leap day every four years, Christmas would be celebrated in mid-June 720 years later.

Why do we have leap years?

Roman Emperor Julius Caesar had already realized this. Since 45 BC Add an additional day every four years after February 23. As a result, ancient Romans celebrated February 24 twice in leap years.

However, in the current Gregorian calendar this double day has a numerical effect on only 29 days. But the church did not comply: it now had 24 days left and calculated holidays on this basis.

Next leap years

Leap year children are restless

Things get complicated for anyone whose birthday is at the end of February. In purely mathematical terms, children born on the 29th of a leap year can celebrate their birthday on the 28th of a normal year.

Leap year children born between the 25th and 28th actually had their cradle celebrations a day earlier in years that lasted 365 days. But that’s not all: Those born in a common year will have to celebrate their birthdays a day later in leap years.

Source : Blick