Every four years, the year has 366 days instead of 365, known as a leap year.
This year, 2024, is one of them, and the BBC points out that in Ancient Rome it was discovered that the calendar was not quite in line with the solar year.
This is because the Earth takes not just 365 days to go around the Sun in its orbit as some people think, but 5 hours, 48 minutes and 56 seconds longer.
Although this difference may seem minimal, over the years it would mean that the seasons would not coincide in the same months every year. Without leap years every 12 years, the calendars would be three days out of sync, explains National Geographic.
The modification of the calendar was an initial idea of Julius Caesar, who asked the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes to help him create an alternative to the Roman calendar that was more in line with reality and the Earth’s rotation.
Origen proposed a calendar, extremely similar to that of the Egyptians, which had 365 days with an additional day every four years to align with the solar year.
This gave rise to the Julian calendar, named after its proponent.
In a leap year, the day added to the calendar is February 29, as the second month of the year normally has only 28 days.
When do children born on February 29 celebrate their birthdays?
Because it is a date that occurs every four years, many people have questions about what happens to those born on February 29.
The probability of being born on February 29 is one in 1,461 babies, according to the Leap Day Honorary Society, an online club of nearly 10,000 members created for leapers to share experiences, according to the Children’s Guide website.
For children born in a leap year, a different date is chosen for their birthday.
Although it is not established, some consider that those who were born before noon on February 29 celebrate their birthday on the 28th of the month, and if they were born after 12 o’clock, they will opt for March 1.