O leap year it is the year that has 366 days compared to the normal year with 365 days.
In this case, the month of February, which has 28 days, changes from the leap year to 29 days.
The name "leap" refers to the 366 days of the year, with the two numbers six ("bis sextum”).
History
The use of the leap year justifies the studies of ancient peoples on the differences between the traditional calendar and the solar calendar.
To harmonize the seasons of the year, research on planet Earth and its translation movement were essential for the inclusion of the leap year in the "Gregorian calendar".
This calendar was established in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, replacing the “Julian calendar”, in which leap years were multiples of three.
The time when the planet Earth it takes to go all the way around the sun, it's not exactly 365 days, that is, it takes 365 days and 6 hours.
Proposed by the Greek scientist Ptolemy in 238 a. C., in Alexandria, Egypt, the leap year was only incorporated into the Julian calendar, 220 years later, around 45 BC. a., by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar.
That over 6 hours in relation to the solar calendar (leap year: 365 + 6 hours), every four years, it would total the time of one day (24 hours). For this reason, a day would be added in the month of February, in order to make up for this difference.
Later, to better define this difference in the calendar, Emperor Caesar Augustus instituted the “Augustian calendar”, counting every four years.
In the 16th century, the “Augustian calendar” was replaced by the “Gregorian calendar”, used until today, which considers leap years multiples of four.
Curiosity
The month of February was chosen by the Romans for superstitious reasons, as it was the shortest month and, in the Roman calendar, the last month, which carried negative connotations.
Therefore, this day would be added to February every four years, which gave rise to something new in the people's mindset, or renewal, associated with that month.
How to Calculate the Leap Year?
To know if a year is a leap year there is a basic rule: leap years are those multiples of 4, that is, every four years we have a leap year.
On the other hand, these years are not multiples of 100 (eg 1800, 1900, 2100), except multiples of 400 (eg 1600, 2000, 2400).
To find out if a year is a leap year, just divide it by 4 and check if the result is an exact number, for example:
1980/4 = 495 (is a leap)
2011/4 = 502.75 (not leap)
The last leap year was in 2020 and the next will be in 2024.
List of Leap Years
Below is a list of leap years, from 2000 to 2060, where the month of February has 29 days:
- 2000
- 2004
- 2008
- 2012
- 2016
- 2020
- 2024
- 2028
- 2032
- 2036
- 2040
- 2044
- 2048
- 2052
- 2056
- 2060
