Every four years, Leap Day that additional day in February knocks on our doors, and everyone welcomes it. February receives an extra day once every four years, making it 29 days instead of 28.
This exceptional day turns into a major draw for people. But Leap Day, this seemingly insignificant addition to our calendar, has a function. It establishes the time for yearly events, tracks the shifting of the seasons, and aids in maintaining equilibrium with Earth's orbit.
Leap Day: Why is it happening?
The curious origin of the additional day in the calendar dates back to Earth's orbit around the Sun, which takes about 365.242190 days, compared to 365 days in a calendar year. For the remaining 0.242190 days, or 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 56 seconds, adjustments were required to guarantee that there were no notable weather variations and that the annual events would take place on schedule.
What Does an Additional Day Mean Every Four Years?
The time it takes for Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, or sidereal year, differs by 24 hours from a calendar year to 23.262222 hours. Leap Days can extend the calendar by more than 44 minutes, which could result in seasonal changes. In order to remedy this, if the addition is greater than 44 minutes, a Leap Year is not held every four years. Years that are divisible by 100 but not by 400 are exempt from this rule. Harmony with the seasons is ensured by this meticulous modification.
Leap Year and Leap Day: A Historical Relationship
The timing of agricultural activities was once regulated by the position of the Sun. As time went on, Julius Caesar saw the necessity for a centralised calendar and instituted the Julian calendar in 45 BCE, which added one extra day every year based on an idea from Egypt.
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Therefore, let's honour the harmony that Leap Day gives to our calendar in 2024 and make sure that our relationship with the seasons endures.
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