Is 1987 a leap year or not. Facts and signs about the leap year that you did not know

In the Julian and Gregorian calendars, a leap year is a year that consists of 366 days. Thus, it differs from the usual one by the presence of an “extra” day. In the Julian calendar, every fourth year is a leap year. As for the Gregorian, it has a similar approach to determining a leap year, but with a small exception.

What are leap years in the Gregorian calendar?

To be considered a leap year, the year must first of all be divisible by four. Regarding zero years, from which centuries begin, they are considered leap years only if their number is a multiple of 400. So, for example, the year 2000 is a leap year, while the year 1900 is not.

As for the question of how many days are in a leap year, the world's most widely used Gregorian calendar contains 366 days. The “extra” day is February 29th. Thus, people born on this day officially celebrate their birthday every four years. This is interesting feature leap years.

Where does the extra day come from?

Our planet is constantly revolving around its celestial body - the Sun. The Earth makes a complete revolution in 365 days and several hours. This period of time is called a "year". For convenience of calculation, the “extra” few hours are not taken into account for three years. In the fourth year, additional hours are added up and, as a result, an “extra” day is obtained, which is usually added to every fourth February.

Leap years: a list for the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries

Given the above rules for determining leap years, it is possible to form a list of them for the last centuries. So, in the 19th century, these were: 1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 180. 1888, 1892, 1896.

In the 20th century leap years, respectively, were 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 198. 1996.

As for the 21st century, in which we all were lucky enough to live, the leap years were 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012. The next leap year will be 2016.

Leap Year Mystery

Despite the fact that the origin and features of leap years have long been studied and absolutely clear, many people are apprehensively waiting for their onset. It so happened that leap year considered something strange and somewhere even dangerous. Nevertheless, if we analyze history, in ordinary years there were no less various kinds of cataclysms and negative events than in leap years. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach any special significance to leap years.

All life on Earth is determined by the proximity to the Sun and the movement of the planet around it and around its own axis. A year is the time during which our planet flies around the Sun, and a day is the time for a complete revolution around its axis. Of course, it is very convenient for people to plan their affairs by weeks, to count a certain number of days in a month or a year.

Nature is not a machine

But it turns out that for a complete revolution around the Sun, the Earth rotates around its axis not the full number of times. That is, there is not a full number of days in a year. Everyone knows that this happens 365 times and this corresponds. In fact, a little more: 365, 25, that is, an extra 6 hours accumulate in a year, and to be completely accurate, an extra 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 14 seconds.

Naturally, if this time is not taken into account, then the hours will add up to a day, those to months, and in a few hundred years the difference between the generally accepted and astronomical calendar will be several months. For social life, this is completely unacceptable: all holidays and memorable dates will be moved.

Such difficulties were discovered quite a long time ago, even under one of the greatest of them - Gaius Julius Caesar.

Caesar's order

Emperors in Ancient Rome were revered on a par with the gods, had unlimited power, so they just remade the calendar with one order, and that's it.

In ancient Rome, the whole year was based on the celebration of calends, non and ides (as the parts of the month were called). In this case, February was considered the last. Thus, in a leap year there were 366 days, and the extra day was in the last month.

After all, it was quite logical to add a day in the last month of the year, in February. And, interestingly, not the last day was added, as it is now, but an additional day before the calendars of the month of March. Thus, in February there were two twenty-fourths. Leap years were appointed after three years, and the first of them happened already during the life of Caesar Gaius Julius. After his death, the system went astray a little, because the priests made a mistake in the calculations, but over time, the correct calendar of leap years was restored.

Now leap years are considered a bit more complicated. And this is due to those few extra minutes that are obtained with the introduction of a complete extra day every four years.

New calendar

The Gregorian calendar, according to which secular society currently lives, was introduced by Pope Gregory at the end of the 16th century. The reason the new calendar was introduced is because the old timekeeping was inaccurate. By adding a day every four years, the Roman ruler did not take into account that in this way the official calendar would be ahead of the generally accepted one by 11 minutes and 46 seconds every four years.

At the time of the introduction of the new calendar, the inaccuracy of the Julian was 10 days, over time it has increased and is now 14 days. The difference increases every century by about a day. It is especially noticeable on the day of the summer and winter solstices. And since some holidays are counted from these dates, the difference was noticed.

The Gregorian leap year calendar is a bit more complex than the Julian calendar.

Structure of the Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar takes into account the difference in the official and astronomical calendar of 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 14 seconds, that is, every 100 years one leap year is canceled.

So how do you know which year is a leap year and which is not? Is there a system and algorithm for canceling an extra day? Or is it better to use

For convenience, such an algorithm is actually introduced. In general, every fourth year is considered a leap year, for convenience, years that are multiples of four are used. Therefore, if you need to find out whether the year of your grandmother's birth or the start of World War II was a leap year, you just need to find out whether this year is divisible by 4 or not. Thus, 1904 is a leap year, 1908 is also a leap year, but 1917 is not.

A leap year is canceled when the century changes, that is, in a year that is a multiple of 100. Thus, 1900 was not a leap year because it is a multiple of 100, non-leap years are also 1800 and 1700. But an extra day does not accumulate in a century, but in about 123 years, that is, again it is necessary to make amendments. How do you know which year is a leap year? If a year is a multiple of 100 and a multiple of 400, it is considered a leap year. That is, 2000 was a leap year, just like 1600.

The Gregorian calendar, with such complex corrections, is so accurate that there is extra time, but we are talking about seconds. Such seconds are also called leap seconds, so that it is immediately clear what it is about. There are two of them a year and they are added on June 30 and December 31 at 23:59:59. These two seconds equalize astronomical and universal time.

How is a leap year different?

A leap year is one day longer than usual, it has 366 days. Earlier, back in Roman times, this year there were two days on February 24, but now, of course, the dates are counted differently. This year in February there is one more day than usual, that is 29.

But it is believed that the years in which there is February 29 are unlucky. There is a belief that in leap years the death rate rises, various misfortunes occur.

Happy or unhappy?

If you look at the mortality diagram in the USSR in the second half of the 20th century and in Russia, you can see that the most high level noted in 2000. This can be explained by economic crises, low living standards and other problems. Yes, 2,000 was a leap year (since it's divisible by 400), but is that the rule? 1996 is by no means a record holder in terms of mortality; in 1995, which preceded it, the mortality was higher.

This indicator reached its minimum mark in almost half a century in non-leap years, but in 1986 the mortality rate was also low, much lower than, for example, in 1981.

Many more examples can be cited, but it is already clearly seen that mortality does not increase in “long” years.

If you look at the birth rate statistics, then you can’t find a clear relationship with the length of the year either. Leap years of the 20th century did not confirm the theory of misfortune. The birth rate both in Russia and in European countries is falling evenly. A slight rise is observed only in 1987, and then the birth rate begins to grow steadily after 2008.

Maybe the leap year determines some tension in politics or predetermines natural disasters or wars?

Among the dates of the beginning of hostilities, you can find only one leap year: 1812 - the war with Napoleon. For Russia, it ended quite happily, but, of course, it was a serious test in itself. But neither the year of the revolution of 1905 nor 1917 was a leap year. The year the Second World War began (1939) was certainly the most unfortunate year for all of Europe, but it was not a leap year.

In leap years, an explosion also occurred, but events such as Chernobyl disaster, the tragedy in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, volcanic eruptions and other disasters happened in the most ordinary years. The list of leap years in the 20th century does not at all coincide with the mournful list of misfortunes and catastrophes.

Causes of misfortune

Psychologists believe that all statements about the fatality of a leap year are nothing more than superstition. If it is confirmed, they talk about it. And if it is not confirmed, they simply forget about it. But the expectation of misfortune in itself can “pull” trouble. It is not for nothing that often happens to a person exactly what he is afraid of.

One of the saints said: "If you do not believe in omens, they will not be fulfilled." AT this case this is more than welcome.

Leap year in Hebrew

The traditional Jewish calendar uses lunar months that last 28 days. As a result calendar year according to this system, it lags behind the astronomical one by 11 days. An additional month in the year is regularly introduced for adjustment. A leap year in the traditional Jewish calendar consists of thirteen months.

Leap years for Jews are more common: out of nineteen years, only twelve are common, and another seven are leap years. That is, the Jews have much more leap years than in the usual case. But, of course, we are talking only about the traditional Jewish calendar, and not about the one according to which the modern state of Israel lives.

Leap year: when is next

All our contemporaries will no longer face exceptions in the calculation of leap years. The next year, which will not be a leap year, is expected only in 2100, this is hardly relevant for us. So the next leap year can be calculated very simply: the nearest year that is divisible by 4.

2012 was a leap year, 2016 will also be a leap year, 2020 and 2024, 2028 and 2032 will be leap years. It is quite easy to calculate this. Of course, it is necessary to know this, but do not let this information scare you. And in a leap year, wonderful and joyful events happen. For example, people born on February 29 are considered lucky and happy.

For most people who believe in signs, it is very important to know in advance all the most important information about some time period. In particular, this applies to the leap year of a particular year, since some warnings are associated with the noted situation. According to popular interpretation, it is during periods lasting not the usual 365, but 366 days that one should be afraid of various cataclysms, conflicts, wars and other misfortunes. Probably, it is for this reason that the question of whether 2019 is a leap year or not is considered so relevant.

Leap year concept

Anyone who truly believes in the destructive power of an extra day in February can breathe a sigh of relief - 2019 consists of the standard number of days (365).

For the first time, the very concept of a leap year appeared in the time of Julius Caesar. The great ruler ordered that the best astronomers of that time introduce the concept of an astronomical year and determine the number of days of which it consists. After some time, the result was ready - the year is formed from 365 days and 6 additional hours. It turns out that each subsequent period should have been shifted forward by 6 hours. To solve the problem of equalizing time frames, it was decided to introduce the concept of a leap year - a period of time in which there will be 1 day more than in a standard year. Caesar liked this idea, and since then every fourth year has been considered “special”.

Since the last leap year was 2016, the next year will be the same fate in 2020. On the one hand, there can be nothing wrong with an extra 24 hours a year, but on the other hand, it is impossible to imagine such a vast number of superstitions invented from scratch. What lies behind all these instructions and is it worth believing in them at all?

Notes on leap year

If we consider the situation from a logical point of view, the marked time period differs from the typical one by only 1 additional day. Among the people, such an outcome is of the utmost importance. Earlier, February 29 was called the day of Kasyan - an unlucky day when various troubles happen to a person.

According to folk beliefs, you can’t start something new on a leap year, because you still can’t achieve the proper result. Any novelty in the designated year causes a negative outcome and adversity. In fact, in a period of 366 days, you should not plan a wedding, move, change jobs, or even get pets. All this list of cases is recommended to be postponed until next year. Also at this hour, you should not start construction, go on long trips and cut your hair during pregnancy until the birth itself.

In fact, everyone decides for himself whether to believe in the warnings listed. You should not take all the signs too close to your heart either, otherwise you will have to every 4 years own life"to walk on tiptoe". Just earlier, when people could not explain the cause of some kind of cataclysm or misfortune, the leap year became the main culprit of all troubles. In fact, disasters happen all the time, don't they?

Leap year wedding

A separate topic for discussion is the ban on marriage in a year consisting of 366 days. According to the signs, such a union will be 100% unhappy and will definitely fall apart in the future. For this reason, most modern couples who decide to legitimize their relationship delay this process to a more standard time period.

In fact, such a sign is too contradictory. In the old days, the leap year was called the period of brides. According to the ancient custom, the girls themselves had the opportunity to woo the guy they liked, and the most interesting thing is that he could not refuse. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the most inconspicuous brides chose the most wealthy and prominent gentlemen as grooms, with whom they were usually secretly in love. It was because of the inequality of the couple that such unions very soon broke up, since there was no happiness at all. Therefore, there was a belief that marriage in a leap year is a bad idea.

The clergy who conduct the wedding ceremony insist that the well-being of the couple depends entirely on the newlyweds themselves. And neither which a leap year or a wedding at the wrong time cannot disturb the harmony between the future spouses, if such exists.

What should we expect from 2019?

Since the described period is not a leap year, even those who firmly believe in signs associated with this time can breathe a sigh of relief - the next 12 months will pass in relative calm. According to astrologers, in 2019 it will be possible to settle many conflict situations, finally say goodbye to the crisis, and make new contacts. This is due to the mistress of the described period - the Yellow Pig, which is a symbol of friendliness, joy, tranquility and prudence.

In the love sphere, 2019 is considered a great time to start a family, have a baby, forge a romantic connection or restore friendships. Many lonely hearts will get a chance to find destiny and long-awaited happiness.

The stars indicate that 2019 is considered the perfect time to start your own business or move up the career ladder. The pig symbolizes faith in own forces, determination and endless hope for the best. Those who will show the noted qualities will have good luck for the whole year. Many will be able to realize their own potential and reach their intended heights. True, it should be understood that sooner or later the time will come when you will have to answer for every decision, whatever it may be.

2019 will not be very different from 2018 or 2017, because it has a standard number of days - 365. Simply put, in the period described, you can safely get married, get married, move to a new place of residence, travel, take non-standard solutions and not be afraid of bad influence from outside. A small clarification - every year, whether it is a leap year or not, brings with it not only joy and carelessness, but also life's hardships and difficulties. To cope with any misfortunes, it is enough to always remain in good location spirit and illuminate this world with a radiant smile.

For centuries, mankind has created history that has been passed down from generation to generation. The myths or reality about the leap year that have come down to our days make everyone think about this inexplicable fact.

What is a leap year?

The term "leap year" in Latin has digital value- 2nd/6th. It represents, from a scientific point of view, the fourth year in excess of the standard number of days (366).

Historical leap year period

During the reign of J. Caesar, there was an additional repeated day in the Roman calendar, with one number (the twenty-fourth of February).

The Romans counted days, years, looking into the "Julian calendar".

In the Julian calendar, every fourth year was considered a leap year, and the last two days of February were the same number.

After the death of the Roman ruler, the priests deliberately began to call the third year a leap year. There was a shift in the annual time and people, for this reason, lived for twelve whole leap years.

Thanks to the decree of the new emperor in Rome - Augustus Octavian, everything fell into place. It took a whole sixteen years to establish the correct "leap time".

Sixteen centuries later Orthodox Church re-introduced new changes to the calendar.

The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Gregory XIII, made a proposal to calculate the calendar according to the new rules. He proposed introducing an additional day in February with a different date (February 29). On the general meeting, before the upcoming Easter, the idea of ​​the head of the Catholic Church was successfully accepted. The Roman calendar had a new chronology. In honor of the ruler of the Catholic Church, it became known as "Gregorian".

The modern concept of a leap year

It is a well-known fact that a year consists of 365 days. The next fourth year is considered a leap year. It is one day longer.

In a leap year in February, not twenty-eight days, but twenty-nine, but this phenomenon occurs once every four years.

Leap year omens and superstitions

Our Slavic ancestors thought that the leap year was a mystical, superstitious year. Probably, the reason lies in the distant story of St. Kasyan.

Saint Kasyan served in the Galilean monastery monastery, and was its founder. He became famous thanks to his writing activity, having written twenty-four essays on the "Conversation", based on a moral, Christian attitude to faith.

The main flaw in the life of Saint Kasyan was that the date of his birth fell on the last day of February, and even at the end of the year.

According to Slavic belief, the last day of the year was considered the end of a harsh winter. For this reason, the holy monk acquired a bad reputation.

Superstitious Slavs considered the last day of a leap year the most difficult. They believed in evil and evil spirits. Hence the fear of people before the leap year.

Signs of a leap year were associated with St. Kasyan:

• If Kasyan approached the people, the disease attacked them.
• Kasyan was next to the animals - their death is inevitable.
• Wherever Kasyan's gaze falls, there will be trouble, devastation.
• Unsuccessful Kasyanov year is approaching - barren.

According to the belief in a leap year, a lot of things do not need to be done, for example:

• play wedding
• Plan pregnancy, have children
• Create new projects
• Go to the forest for mushrooms
• Cutting hair
• File for divorce
• Borrow money
• Plant new seeds
• Make repairs indoors
• Pursue the purchase of real estate

Leap year approaching modern society causes controversy. One part of society believes in his negative actions, the other does not.

Negative side of a leap year:

1. Natural disasters
2. catastrophes
3. Military conflicts
4. Frequent accidents
5. Lost
6. fires

Positive side of a leap year

People born in a leap year are creative and talented. Endowed with bright charisma, strong character, love of life (Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Gauguin).

Today, a leap year is perceived as a year of disasters, wars, catastrophes. After all, the most terrible events occurred during this period.

People are subject to something to believe, and most often bad. A leap year is perceived as a time of loss, disappointment, sadness. Is it so? It's worth asking yourself.

The leap year, in which an extra day is added to the end of February every four years, is due to a mismatch solar system and the Gregorian calendar. The Earth's full orbit around the Sun takes exactly 365.2422 days, but the Gregorian calendar has 365 days. So leap seconds - and leap years - are added to keep our clocks (and calendars) in sync with the Earth and her seasons.

Why is the extra day in February and not in another month?

All other months in the Julian calendar have 30 or 31 days, but February fell victim to the ego of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. During the time of his predecessor Julius Caesar, February had 30 days and the month of his name - July - 31, while August had only 29 days. When Caesar Augustus became emperor, he added two days to "his" month to make August as long as July. So February fell victim to August in the battle for extra days.

Julius Caesar vs. Pope Gregory

The Roman calendar did indeed have 355 days, with an additional 22-day month every two years, until Julius Caesar became emperor in the 1st century and ordered the astronomer Sosigenes to develop a better system. Sosigene settled on 365 days a year, with an extra day every four years to include additional hours, and so February 29 was born. Because an earth day is not exactly 365.25 days, Pope Gregory XIII's astronomers decided to remove three days every 400 years when they introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The calculations have worked since then, but the system would have to be rethought after about 10,000 years.

Technically, a leap year doesn't occur every four years.

2000 was a leap year, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. A leap year is every year that is divisible by four, except for those years that are both divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. The added century rule (versus the simple "every four years") was an additional correction to compensate for the fact that an extra day every four years was too much of a correction.

What is a leap second?

Leap years are not directly related to leap seconds, but they were all introduced for the purpose of keeping our clocks and calendars in line with the revolutions of the Earth. Leap seconds were added to bring the Earth's rotation in line with atomic time. The leap second was added at the end of June last year, when just after midnight the dials showed 11:59:60. Atomic time is constant, but the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down by about two thousandths of a second per day. So leap seconds have crucial so that the time we use doesn't exactly deviate from time based on the rotation of the earth. If this is not checked, eventually we will come to the fact that the clock will show noon at night. The leap second can sometimes cause problems for some networks that rely on precise timings. When the last leap second was added in 2012, Mozilla, Reddit, Foursquare, Yelp, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon reported crashes, and problems with operating system Linux and programs written in Java.

Other calendars need leap years too

The modern Iranian calendar is a solar calendar with eight leap days added every 33 years. The Indian National Calendar and the Revised Calendar of Bangladesh arrange their leap years so that the leap day is always close to February 29 in the Gregorian calendar.

What if you were born on February 29th?

The chance of being born on a leap year is 1 in 1461. People who were born on February 29th are called "leaplings" or "leapers" (from "leap year" - leap year). In common years, many of them choose either February 28th or March 1st to celebrate their birthday, while purists stick to February 29th. Some suggest that those born just after midnight on February 29 should celebrate their birthdays on February 28, while those born just before midnight on March 1 should celebrate their birthdays on that day. Those born around noon are less fortunate when it comes to choosing. About 4.1 million people worldwide were born on February 29th.

Famous people born on a leap day

The chances of your birthday falling on a leap day are extremely slim - 1 in 1461 to be exact - and there's a pretty mixed bag famous people born on this day.

• Frederick is a character in The Pirates of Penzance
• John Byrom - Romantic poet
• Pope Paul III - 16th century pontiff
• George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower - 19th century musician
• Ann Lee - leader of the Shaker sect
• Gioacchino Rossini - Italian composer
• Charles Pritchard - British astronomer
• Sir Dave Brailsford - English cyclist and coach
• Tony Robbins - motivational speaker
• Alan Richardson - composer
• Darren Ambrose - English footballer
• Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) - rapper

Photo: Sir Dave Brailsford changed the fate of British cycling

Why do women propose to men on a leap year?

Leap year is also known as the time when women can propose to men.

According to one theory, this tradition dates back to the 5th century, when, according to legend, the Irish nun Saint Bridget complained to Saint Patrick that women had to wait too long for proposals from suitors. Saint Patrick then allegedly gave women the opportunity to do it themselves every four years. Until the 19th century, no one thought that the tradition would become commonplace. There is also a theory that Margaret, Queen of Scots was behind the legendary Scottish law of 1288. The law gave unmarried women the freedom to propose during a leap year, and the person who refused had to pay a fine. True, this story is dubious at best - after all, Queen Margaret was only eight years old when she died, and scholars have been unable to find a record of the law.

Others argue that the tradition of women proposing on this day dates back to a time when a leap year day was not recognized by English law. According to this theory, if the day had no legal status, it was acceptable to break with the custom that it was a man's job to propose. In Denmark, if a man declines an offer, he is required to give the woman 12 pairs of gloves, while in Finland, the penalty is fabric for a skirt.

Leap year capital

The city of Antonia, which lies on the border between Texas and New Mexico in the United States, is the self-proclaimed Leap Year Capital of the World. The four-day leap year festival held there every leap year includes a huge birthday party for all children born on that day.

According to a study by Beefeater, 20% of women said they would like to propose to their partner. Despite this, nearly a third of the women said they would be concerned about their partner's reaction. However, more than half of the men (59%) would like their girlfriends to get down on one knee. To that end, the chain has created a "Leap Year Package" just in case you want to ask this question at one of their establishments.

Research by The Stag Company has found similar results, with more than half of the men saying they would accept a proposal from their girlfriend and the majority saying they would like their girlfriend to present them with a ring. However, only 15% of the women said they would consider the offer.

Leap year proverbs

In Scotland, a leap year is considered bad for cattle. That is why the Scots sometimes say: "Leap year has never been good year for the sheep."

In Italy, where they say "anno bisesto, anno funesto" (meaning leap year, fateful year), there are warnings against planning special events such as weddings. What is the reason?

"Anno bisesto tutte le donne senza sesto", which means "In a leap year, women are fickle".

Other Leap Year Facts

Summer Olympic Games always held in a leap year

In Greece, couples often avoid getting married on a leap year, believing it brings bad luck.

Food for thought: If you work for a fixed monthly salary, you will have to work one more day than usual for the same salary.

As mentioned above, a year that is divisible by 100 but not by 400 is not technically a leap year. Therefore, 2000 was a Gregorian leap year, as was 1600. But 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years. "There's a good reason for this," said Ian Stewart, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Air Force. - "There are 365 days in a year and a quarter more - but not exactly. If it was accurate, then you could say that this happens once every four years." The decision of Pope Gregory and his astronomers should be rethought in about 10,000 years, Professor Stewart points out.

Leap years are also known as intercalary years.