Leap Year 2024: Why is one day added to February? Know what is leap day
February, the second month of the year 2024, has finally ended. This year is a leap year, that is, this time in February there will be 29 days instead of 28 and the year will have 366 days instead of 365. Leap year comes once every four years and one extra day is added in the year in February. But have you ever wondered why leap year comes only every four years and why one day is added only in the month of February? So let us know.
How did the leap year start?
We all know that the Earth revolves around the Sun. And it takes one year to complete one revolution. Meanwhile, day turns to night and the seasons also change. The Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to complete this rotation. However, this time in the calendar year was considered to be 365 days and 6 hours. 6 hours are added every year for 4 years to compensate for the difference in days between the solar year and the calendar year. Therefore, leap year comes only once in four years, in which one day is added i.e. there are 366 days. And this is called leap year.
Why is one day added only in February?
Actually, in the Julian calendar, instead of December, February was considered the last month. For this reason, an extra day was added in the month of February itself.
This is how the Gregorian calendar started
In the 16th century, Pope Gregory VIII reported that due to extra time there had been a difference of 10 days between the solar year and the calendar year. He changed the Julian calendar by reducing 10 days on 24 February 1582. The calendar we use today was named after him - 'Gregorian Calendar'. However, his idea failed to adjust to the times.
Why is it important to have a leap year?
When the Gregorian calendar was introduced, leap year was celebrated for the first time four years later. If leap years are not followed every 4 years, we will go ahead of the time cycle. If one extra day is included in the calendar every four years, then after a hundred years we will be ahead by 25 days. If this happens then even the change in weather will not be detected.
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