| Show Leap Year Is With Us Again and Heres Here's What Causes It Keeps Seasons in Order Gives Fair Maidens Their Chance Cliance This Is leap 1011 year ear and February 20 Is the tho cause of or It It But Dut the cause caulle of or February ry 20 29 dates dateR back to 40 B n C. C when the astronomers of ot Julius Caesar fl figured out that the solar eolar year rear the time lime It takes tak's the earth arth t. t tj complete Its orbit around the sun was 8 sal Sai M days dars and six hours hourI The I six hours hour stumped them until they decided to add an extra da day t tr tJ ever every fourth year ear and make th that t day Fe February 20 29 This Is la leap year because the extra day do y causes the calendar to leap over a R day of the week after February 20 Ordinarily the calendar rotates just jus one day because Is one over 62 ro seven day weeks Thus March 1 ten tell on n Friday last year but will faton taU fat fallon on Sunday Instead of Saturday this e year rear Pope Suppresses Ten Days Day The Julian astronomers didn't have the thing down pat t however for tor tho the solar eolar year par Is actually SO days f 6 hours 48 43 minutes and seconds By Dy the time Pope Pops Gregory Gregor XIII decided to act In 1582 A. A D D. the datI dates of of or the year Jear had shifted 10 days out of ot season To co correct this Pope Gregory ordered that October 5 S fit 1582 1592 be made October 15 II'S 1582 1581 To take care of ot the discrepancy occurrIng occurring oc or thereafter Pope Gregorys Gregory's astronomers d decided that leap year should be omitted on every century year rear not divisible by lA-a lA Leap year wont won't be again oguin until 2100 A A. A D D. D Anyway leap year rear has hall a R more romantic romantic romantic ro ro- mantic aspect By Dy tradition It If not by practice It Is the time a woman can propose marriage to a man The origin of ot this this- counter attack In the love lore putt gult Is le less satisfactorily explaIned explained explained ex ex- than thon the Julian and Gregorian Gregorian Grego Grego- rian clan calendars But Dut apparently Margaret of ot Norway Nor Nor- Norway way war who became queen of or Scotland started the thing In 1288 A A. A D D. b by y saying there ought to be a law Sh She decreed that during the leap years year e of ot her Der reign every mayden ladye o of ot ef f botho bathe highs and lows lowe shall ha hae e to b bespeaks ye man she likes And It If a It bachelor didn't like taking the proponent to tn be he Ids his lawful FCc he le could 1 be mulcted fined one pound or less Ills His only out was 88 to b be bA already engaged Calendar Accepted Rapidly The Gregorian calendar was accepted ac ae c In ln Italy Spain and Portugal on the same mine day It was ordered In Rome In I France It W wax was III accepted before be be- fore tore the year was ended coded and In 1583 1585 by the Catholic states of Germany The German Protestant states retained re re- the Julian calendar until 1700 when Sweden and Denmark also changed to the Gregorian or new style calendar Rus a held to the Julian calendar until the soviet union was formed In Great Britain the Julian calendar calen eaten dar du was ns abolished by the act of ot 1750 That same year par saw the c change In Inthe Inthe n the British colonies co In fn America The Tho birthday of ot George Washington n which was February 11 under the Julian calendar became February 22 when tho the change occurred Chicago Chicago Tribune |
