Another leap year is among us
Mia Smith, Staff Writer
2024 is a leap year. But what does that mean?
Leap years occur every four years, and, despite seeming rather insignificant, there is in fact a deeper meaning to them. We can thank Julius Caesar and his Julian Calendar for the additional day added every four years.
According to his calculations in 46 B.C., the leap year was added to balance out the star alignments that were off with the basic 365 days in a year that were initially calculated.
Adding an extra day every four years keeps our astrological seasons aligned. Because of the rotations of the earth around the sun, a full year is 365.25 days — not the 365 that everyone knows. It takes the earth 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds to orbit the sun.
According to what astronomy expert Dr. Stephen Hughes of Queensland University of Technology told the Asian Scientist Magazine,, “if there were no leap years, the seasons would completely swap every 750 years, i.e. the middle of summer would become the middle of winter − calendar climate change.”
Although, there are exceptions to the leap year. Pope Gregory XIII changed the Julius calendar to then add a new rule.
When there is a turn of the century in which that year is not divisible by 400, the leap year is skipped. That means that the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years and the years 2100, 2200 and so on will also not be counted.
There are a lot of myths and legends surrounding leap year.
It is easy to tell a leap year by looking at the calendar but many people do not know of the urban legends that lie within leap years.
A major blockbuster movie called Leap Year, starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, shows us one of the many legends that are hidden within leap years.
In this romantic comedy, Anna (Amy Adams), is making it her mission to propose to her then boyfriend only to go on a big adventure through Ireland.
It is an urban tradition that men cannot refuse the proposal of marriage from a woman on a leap year day.
“Its Leap Year diddly-eye! Will you marry me, diddly-eye?”
This legend stems back to the historical figure St. Bridget who is said to have complained about how long St. Patrick was taking to propose. In turn, St. Patrick then ended up making it acceptable only on Feb. 29, it is acceptable for women to propose.
Following this, there is a myth that Queen Margaret of Scotland enacted a law that there would be a fine for any man that turned down a proposal on a leap year.
The rumors and myths about fines on leap days are also carried into other countries.
In Finland, an uninterested man must give the woman enough fabric to make a shirt if he is to turn down the proposal.
In Denmark, he must give a dozen pairs of new gloves.
So from what I am hearing, if you want to either be engaged or are in the market for new clothes, Feb. 29 is the day for both.
The Greek, on the other hand, have the superstition that if you get married during a leap year there is a higher chance of divorce. To those who get married this year… be warned.
Does fortune favor those with leap year birthdays?
If you are one of the one in 1,461 who has a leap year birthday, sorry. In some cultures, having a birthday on a leap year is considered to be very bad luck.
In Scotland, being born on a leap year means that you are destined to a life of bad luck and fortune. Part of that bad luck could be attached to current day issues such as post offices. Companies such as Toys R Us do not register Feb. 29 as a day in their systems, which means that there is the potential of not having gifts delivered on that day. Happy birthday to you.
But, on the other hand, some astrologists believe that having a leap year birthday means you could have hidden superpowers. Some astrologists believe that when there is a rare day when the stars align that there could be untapped power behind the day. No pressure to tap the power or anything…
If you are born on a leap year, how old are you really? It could be argued that as a leap year baby, you would only age one year for every four that pass. But that is not the reality. A lot of leap year babies find themselves celebrating on either Feb. 28 or March 1.
Although sadly, leap year babies do continue to age. It does make for a lot of good jokes and teasing for the friends of those with leap year birthdays. Where will we all be in 2028 when the next leap year occurs? Who knows. But at least kids born on Feb. 29 this year will finally get to celebrate their first birthday.
