Friday, March 1, 2013
Top 10 Unknown Facts About Leap Year
hile the leap year comes only every four years due to the fact that it takes the earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 48 seconds to travel around the sun; it is interesting to know that the people who are born on February 29 are called as “leaplings.” However, being a leapling can have some problems as well especially in obtaining driver’s license, though they cannot deny the fact that they can also cash on their unusual birthday with freebies and perks from scores of stores and restaurants. Though the Romans were the first to designate February 29 as a leap day, it was Gregory XIII who fined-tuned in the 16thcentury the calculations being used today. Here are the top 10 unknown facts about leap year that every leaplings, or not, should know.
10. Leap Year folklore and traditions.
Aside from tradition in Ireland, it is considered to be unlucky for someone to be born on a leap day in Scotland just as everybody else is afraid of Friday the 13th. Meanwhile in Greece, it is unlucky for couples to get married on a leap year, especially on February 29; which incidentally is St. Oswald’s Day in honor of the archbishop of York who died on February 29, 992. This is, however, commemorated on February 28 during the common years. For the superstitious Chinese, they believe that more bad luck happens during the leap month in the lunar calendar. They also believed that children born on this day are hard-headed and that they are never good in business or in getting married.
9. Leap year in Guinness.
Ever since leap year was first introduced with the transition from the Roman calendar to the Julian Calendar 2000 years ago, it has also been subjected to the “world record of leap-day babies” as recorded by the Guinness Book of Records. Leaplings are not only invited to join the “Honor Society of Leap Day Babies,” but there are world record holders for those families producing three succeeding generations born on February 29 – the Keogh family, and of the number of children born on February 29 from the same family as well. The lists of these families include Peter Anthony who was in 1940 in Ireland; his son Peter Eric, who was born in the UK in 1964; and his daughter Bethany, born in 1996. The Henriksen from Andenes, Norway holds the official record for the most number of children born of February 29, as Mrs. Karin Henriksen gave birth to her daughter Heidi in 1960, and her sons Olav and Leif Martin in 1964 and 1968 in that order.
8. There was an actual February 30.
Though it was just temporary, February 30 was an actual date used at one point in Sweden and the Soviet Union. In Sweden, February 30, 1712 resulted from an error in their calendar conversion during the 18th century; while it was an attempt to cut the seven-day weeks into five-day weeks in the case of the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1931. There was also the claim of the 13th century scholar Johannes de Sacrobosco that February had 30 days in the Julian calendar in the leap years between 45 BCE and 8 BCE. This was to give the month of August to have the same length as July. However, historic evidences have refuted this claim as Sacrobosco was also known to be a critic of the Julian calendar.
7. February 29 in history.
Leap year came to be due to the ancient Egyptians, who first figured out that the solar year and the calendar they were using did not match up. Because of that people came to know the tradition where women proposed to men, which started in 1288. February 29, 1704, meanwhile, saw the raid conducted by French Canadians and Indians in Deerfield, Massachusetts as the Indians were trying to retrieve their church bell that has been shipped from France. The predecessor of calculator, the first tabulating machine, was invented in 1860. In 1904, a seven-man commission was created to hasten the works of the Panama Canal; while Miklos Horthy de Nagybanya became the Regent of Hungary in 1920. 1944 saw the invasion of the Admiralty Islands by General Douglas McArthur, which was also the day the Dorothy McElroy Vredenburgh of Alabama became the first woman to be appointed secretary of the national political party, Democratic National Committee. Nowadays, February 29 is celebrated as the “Rare Disease Day” to obtain funding for diseases that have no known cure. US presidential elections and the Summer Olympics were also held every four years.
6. Leap Year and Astrology
Astrologers believe that leaplings possess unusual talents and abilities due to their extraordinary birthday. While they can choose to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 on common years, these Pisces-born leaplings are considered as optimistic, friendly and good-natured. Though highly opinionated, they are suited for parenthood; live a healthy lifestyle, proud of their versatility, and insist on personal happiness. It is interesting to note though, that those who were born in 1884 never get to celebrate their entire teenage years until they turned 20.
5. Some mathematical facts about leap year.
There is only one chance for every 1,461 leap year births or 0.0006 percent chance, which makes up the 4 million people today who were born on February 29. A year divisible by 100 cannot be a leap year unless it can be divided by 400, which make the year 2000 a leap year but the year 1900 was not. There is also the “leap second” or a one-second adjustment that is sometimes applied to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep the day closer to the mean solar time. The latest adjustment on “leap second” was made on June 30, 2012 at 23:59:60 UTC.
4. There is a leap year capital of the world.
Anthony, Texas, a town situated near the border of New Mexico, is the self-proclaimed “leap year capital of the world.” It started in 1988 when dames Mary Ann Brown and Birdie Lewis, who were both born in a leap year, came up with an idea to have a leap year festival not only to give the town some recognition but to raise funds for the community as well. The Chamber of Commerce agreed with this; and today, February 29 is celebrated with parades, festivals, birthday dinners, parties, and hot air balloon rides where leaplings celebrate their birthdays in style. Being born on a leap year can really have its perks!
3. Local laws can decide when ‘leaplings’ celebrate their birthdays.
The Civil Code of China declared that leaplings or those who are born on February 29 take February 28 as their legal birthday; a law that has been carried out since October 29, 1929. Hong Kong has a similar law implemented since the 1990, where the legal birthday of a leapling is March 1 in common years. However, only a few of them will get to celebrate their Golden Birthday since they would be 116 years old before they turned 29.
2. It is normal for women to propose to men on leap year day.
This tradition goes back in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about the fact that the women have to wait for men to propose to them, which she thought was unfair. St. Patrick gave in by setting February 29 as the day that allows women to have the right to ask for a man’s hand in marriage. The tradition lived on in Scotland until 1288 when Queen Margaret declared that those who will refuse will be fined with a silk dress, a kiss, or a pair of gloves if they rejected the ladies. This tradition was also practiced in Denmark and Finland, while it is considered as bad luck to get married in a leap year in Germany. In modern day America, this is practiced during the “Sadie Hawkins Day” in honor of the homeliest girls where they can pursue the most eligible bachelors in town. This stemmed from the comic strip Li’l Abner created by Al Capp.
1. The origin of the term Leap Year.
In the Gregorian calendar, a fixed date normally advances one day of the week year after year. However, during the leap year, the days of the week will advance in two days from March onwards due to the extra day inserted at the end of February, making one day “leap over” in the week. For instance, if your birthday in 2004 fell on a Saturday, in 2005 it was Sunday, Monday in 2006, and became Tuesday in 2007. However in 2008, which was a leap year, your birthday fell on a Thursday, which made it “leap over” Wednesday; thus the name
- See more at: http://www.tiptoptens.com/2013/02/28/top-10-unknown-facts-about-leap-year/#sthash.47JwwJEt.dpuf
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