(as published in the Fort Erie Observer – February 29, 2024)
Happy Leap Year!
Leap year? What’s a leap year? some may ask.
Most of us have always known about it, learned it in school, as just an extra day. We’ve accepted it. Checked periodically, is this year a leap year?
But have you ever dug into the details? ‘Kinda cool. And kinda necessary.
And then, I found a rather interesting fact in history. But first…
What is a Leap Year?
A leap year is a calendar year that contains an additional day compared to a common year. In a leap year, also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year, the 366th day is added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or seasonal year.
Simply put, by inserting, or “intercalating”, an additional day — a leap day — into some years, the drift between a civilization’s dating system and the physical properties of the solar system can be corrected, according to Wikipedia.
Doing the Math
While the modern calendar contains 365 days, the actual time it takes for Earth to orbit its star is slightly longer—roughly 365.2421 days.
“The difference might seem negligible,” says History.com, “but over decades and centuries that missing quarter of a day per year can add up. To ensure consistency with the true astronomical year, it is necessary to periodically add in an extra day to make up the lost time and get the calendar back in sync with the heavens.”
Outcome
Our calendar has three common years of 365 days followed by a leap year of 366 days by extending February to 29 days rather than the common 28.
February has historically always been the month of the year that had its length altered. Study.com states, “Historians suggest that in ancient Rome, politicians altered the length of February to cope with the length of the unpredictable winter season. Also, the timing of February was lengthened or shortened to influence political gains. When Julius Caesar developed the Julian calendar, he kept with the Roman tradition of adding a day to February.”
What would happen if we didn’t have a leap year?
Study.com answered this question. “If a leap year was not observed regularly, the timing of the seasons and other solar events would become irregular, unpredictable, and confusing. Leap years allow a constant and regular adjustment being made to keep the tropical year aligned with the timing of the seasons observed through the calendar.”
For instance, the school year might eventually start in the spring instead of late summer. And if the calendar didn’t match up with the seasons, farmers would have a more difficult time growing crops, which could affect food supplies, noted an article on nationalgeographic.com.
As I was digging around in my research, I came across a rather fun fact. It reminds me of just how remarkable it is to look back on how we, as a civilization, once lived, thrived, and interacted. Astonishingly entertaining.
Leap Day is often associated with marriage, proposals, and flipping gender roles.
“Tradition holds that in 5th-century Ireland, St. Bridget lamented to St. Patrick that women were not allowed to propose marriage to men. So,” claims History.com, “legend has it that St. Patrick designated the only day that does not occur annually, February 29, as a day on which women would be allowed to propose to men. In some places, Leap Day thus became known as Bachelor’s Day.
“This tradition hopped the Irish Sea to Scotland and England, where the British added a twist—if a man rejected a woman’s proposal, he owed her a debt of several pairs of fine gloves, perhaps to hide the fact that she did not have an engagement ring.”
Leap Day, in the Greek tradition, adds another twist. It was bad luck to marry on Leap Day, and statistics suggest that Greek couples continue to take this superstition seriously.
This tradition plays out in the movie, “Leap Year” which came out in 2010, where actress Amy Adams travels through Ireland to surprise her boyfriend with a marriage proposal on February 29th.
We experience Leap Day only once every four years. It is rare, and it is special. It might do us all good to find something special to do today, either on our own or with others. I found a few ideas to kickstart the creative mind:
- Make a time capsule. Add photos, letters, mementos and anything else that reminds you of 2024. Seal it up and open it on February 29, 2028.
- Do something completely new. Use February 29th to take yourself out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons.
- Play leapfrog. This is more for the kids but the adults are more than welcome.
- Make plans for February 29, 2028. Plan for a meeting, create a tradition.
- Learn more about Leap Year. I’ve given a few simplified, surface details. Dig in. Find out what the Egyptians thought, and what the Romans believed. Oh, there’s more.
- Create a Leap Day photo shoot. Whatever you decide to do today, take lots of photos, then honour this day by creating an arrangement or album.
- Reminisce about past Leap Years. Walk down memory lane with others and share memories, special world events, songs, and TV shows.
- Write a letter to yourself. Like the time capsule, you can record current events and favourites, goals, and fears. The difference between a personal letter and a time capsule is just that — it’s personal. Make it real.
And then, at the end of the day, watch the sunset. Take it in, savour it — because you won’t see another Leap Year set for another four years.
For Other Stories by Christine Whelan Previously Printed in the
FORT ERIE OBSERVER
Christine Whelan 