A number of the calenders used in the world, follow solar and/or lunar cycles, and as the number of days do not perfeectly fit into either a lunar or solar cycle, a correction is required periodically to the calender. If the correction were not to be made, the calender would see a shift in the seasons in the calender.
The different calenders use different techniques for this correction.
The concept of the leap day in a calender, come about as a result of the Julian reforms, when Julius Cesear tried to resolve the long time condrum of aligning the seasons to the calender. The Juialn Calender as it was to be known saw a number of modifications over the years, until our modern day calender was established in 1582.
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so a leap year has an extra month, and is added according to a complicated rule, which ensures that month 11 is always the month that contains the northern winter solstice.
The Hebrew calendar is also lunisolar with an embolismic month. This extra month is called Adar Alef, and is done seven times every nineteen years (specifically, in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19). This is to ensure that Pesah (Passover) is always in the spring as required by the Torah (Pentateuch) in many verses relating to Pesah.
The Coptic calendar and Ethiopian calendar also add an extra day to the end of the year once every four years before a Julian 29-day February.
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established that the Calender (to be called the Gregorian Calender), an extra day (February 29) is added every 4 years. It occurs in years divisable by four, except for the new century years, that are not divisible by 400. So 1900 was not a leap year but 2000 was.
February 29 Facts and Myths..
Julius Caesar gave Febraury 29 days, and 30 days every four years. Later, Augustus, when coming Roman emperor, took one day off to add one day to August, the month named after him. We now have February with 28 days, and 29 on leap years.
In 1288, a decree by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then aged five and living in Norway),set aside this day as the one day when a woman could propose marriage to a man. If he refused, he was required to pay a fine. The fine usually required the man to present the lady with a kiss, a silk dress or a pair of gloves. It was based on Irish folklore that St. Bridget convinced St. Patrick to allow one day that a woman could propose.
This has been was adopted by other countries with minor variations. In Denmark, the tradition is that women may propose on the leap day, February 24, and that refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves. In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman's proposal on leap day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt.
In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year.
James Milne Wilson had the distinction of being born on a leap day and dying on a leap day. Wilson served as the Premier of Tasmania until the day he died, February 29, 1880. Even though Wilson was 68 years old, he died on his 17th birthday.
A person born on February 29 may be called a "leapling" or a "leaper".
A birthday on feb 29 is pivtoal to the plot of the Pirate of Penzance.
February 29 in history.....
1692, First accusations made in the Salem Witch Trials.
1848 Switzerland's independence is declared by Neufchatel.
1940 Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind".
The container is a standard nano, so please bring your own writing implement. The posted co-ordinates are the most accurate you will get at this location, but the GPSr signal is not great here. The position of cache in Google Earth is not correct and you should be able to access this cache safely from the western side of Turbot Street. Look for Clear Away sign on a bend.