It’s Leap Year, every four year we add an extra day to the calendar, February 29, Leap Day, to keep the calendar in line with the Earth’s movement around sun.
How much do you know about Leap Day?
- Many ancient calendars had entire leap months including Hebrew, Chinese and Buddist calendars. They are lunisolar, meaning their dates indicate the position of the moon as well as the position of Earth relative to the sun.
- Julius Caesar, dictator of the Roman empire was convinced the Egyptian solar calendar was superior – it featured 365 days. Caesar gave us the Julian Calendar – effective January 1, 45 B.C.E.
- The Romans were close but by the 16th century scholars had noticed that time was still slipping. The number of days was close but not exact. Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian Calendar, the calendar used today in most parts of the world, in October 1582.
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