THE media yesterday reported on several forms of anniversaries‚ including birthdays and wedding anniversaries that happen only once every four years‚ on February 29.
The Guardian hosted a feature on “leap year brides”‚ women who proposed marriage on February 29. According to a fifth century superstition‚ women were allowed to propose only on this day.
One woman‚ writing on the Quartz website‚ described how on her seventh birthday she was actually turning 28.
She explained the concept of the leap year: “The way we measure time on Earth is a bit complicated. For example‚ we measure years by the length of time it takes our planet to orbit the sun. We call this a ‘solar’ or ‘tropical’ year. But while most of us understand a year as comprising 365 days‚ that’s not exactly right. The precise measure of a solar year is 365.24219 days.”
It was Roman emperor Julius Caesar who introduced the Julian calendar – an amended version of the existing Roman calendar. A year‚ he said‚ would include 365 days‚ with an extra leap day every fourth year.
In the United States‚ the town of Anthony‚ on the border between Texas and New Mexico‚ holds a celebration every leap year for people born on February 29. — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
Celebrating with a difference on leap year
The Guardian hosted a feature on “leap year brides”‚ women who proposed marriage on February 29. According to a fifth century superstition‚ women were allowed to propose only on this day.
One woman‚ writing on the Quartz website‚ described how on her seventh birthday she was actually turning 28.
She explained the concept of the leap year: “The way we measure time on Earth is a bit complicated. For example‚ we measure years by the length of time it takes our planet to orbit the sun. We call this a ‘solar’ or ‘tropical’ year. But while most of us understand a year as comprising 365 days‚ that’s not exactly right. The precise measure of a solar year is 365.24219 days.”
It was Roman emperor Julius Caesar who introduced the Julian calendar – an amended version of the existing Roman calendar. A year‚ he said‚ would include 365 days‚ with an extra leap day every fourth year.
In the United States‚ the town of Anthony‚ on the border between Texas and New Mexico‚ holds a celebration every leap year for people born on February 29. — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
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