Although the leap year It has a different meaning in each culture, Every four years Our calendar experiences This peculiar phenomenon. In 2024, we will have an additional day in the year during the month of February. Although it is very curious that a person is born precisely on this day of the year, the reality is that all events related to this Type of peculiarity in the calendar They are surrounded by a certain mystical aura.
A leap year is one that has an additional day, with A total of 366 days instead of the usual 365. This extra day is added to the calendar to compensate for the difference between the calendar year (365 days) and the Tropic yearwhich is the time it takes for the earth to take a complete turn around the sun (approximately 365,2422 days).
He Gregorian calendarwhich is the internationally accepted civil calendar, establishes that one year is leap is divisible between four. However, there are exceptions to this rule: The years that are divisible between a hundred are not leapsunless they are also divisible between 400. For example, The year 2000 was leap Because it is divisible between 400, despite also being divisible between one hundred.
The introduction of the leap year helps keep the civil calendar synchronized with the stations of the year. Without this correction, over the centuries, Seasonal dates would gradually move In relation to the calendar, which would cause problems in determining specific dates associated with astronomical and seasonal events. The leap year is a necessary adjustment to align our calendar with the cycles of the earth around the sun.
Historical Origins
The historical origins of the leap year date back to the ancient civilizations they were looking for adjust your calendars to synchronize them with astronomical cycles and stations. Some of the most relevant milestones in the evolution of the leap year include:
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar, in use during the Roman Republic, had a year of 355 days divided into 12 months lunar. To adjust the calendar with the stations, the Romans introduced the month interspersed (mesis intercalaris) In some years. However, this method was not consistent and led to confusion.
Julio César reform
In the year 45 AC, Julio César introduced an important reform to the Roman calendar, creating the Julian calendar. This calendar established a year of 365.25 days divided into 12 months and added an additional day Every four years to compensate for extra time. This extra day was added at the end of February.
Subsequent adjustments
Despite the precision of the Julian calendar, it still accumulated small errors over time. In the 16th century, the Pope Gregory XIII made a reform known as the CGregorian alloy. This calendar maintained the rule of the leap year every four years, but introduced an exception: the divisible years between 100 would be leaps only if they were also divisible between 400. This reform helped correct the accumulated lagaligning the calendar with the tropic year.
Calendars in other cultures
Other calendaric systems, such as Egyptian and ChineseThey also had methods to deal with the need for intercalar settings to synchronize time. In China, for example, they were used additional months in certain years.