2024 is a leap year since it has 366 days.
A leap year is one that has a length of 366 days . Therefore, they have one more day than the rest of the years.
It should be noted that a year is a temporary period that extends for twelve months . In the Gregorian calendar, the year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 . Year, in addition, can be the unit of time that measures twelve months, although starting on any day (that is, not necessarily January 1 ).
Due to the configuration of the months , years usually have 365 days . The exception, as we already indicated, are leap years.
Why does a leap year have one more day?
The inclusion of an additional day is linked to the difference between the calendar year and the tropic year (the time it takes for planet Earth to orbit the sun). The tropical year extends for 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds . To overcome this gap between the calendar year and the tropical year, every four years a day is added to the calendar year , equivalent to the unaccounted for time of the tropical year.
The rule indicates that a year is a leap year when it can be divided by 4 , with the exception of cases in which it is also divisible by 100 . If the year is divisible by 4 , 100 and 400 , it is also considered a leap year and has an extra day.
In a leap year of the Gregorian calendar there is February 29.
February 29
The years 2016 , 2020 and 2024 , for example , are leap years. It should be noted that the additional day is added at the end of February . This month, which usually has 28 days , thus becomes 29 days . In a leap year, therefore, there is February 29 .
February 29 awakens in itself a series of myths and legends , given that it is the only one that only appears once every four years. In this context, there is a great division between those who interpret it as a source of fortune and those who fear the fatalities it supposedly brings; One of the phrases used by the latter is "leap year, neither vineyard nor orchard." It is also believed that people born on that day have a special predisposition to achieve great goals in life.
On the other hand, we must not forget that people born on February 29 cannot celebrate their birthday normally , and for that reason each country establishes the rules in its civil regulations to solve this problem. In general, the official date on which they must do so is the 28th; In Spain, for example, non-leap years must be moved to 00:00 on the 28th.
Far from being a superficial issue or a whim merely related to a celebration that could easily be omitted, the date of birth is very important for legal purposes, since it is linked to concepts such as the age of majority. Although a distance of a few hours may seem insignificant, before the law there are only two possibilities: right and wrong.
Leap year in the Roman calendar
Unlike what happens in the Gregorian calendar, the Roman calendar added the leap day after February 24 and, curious as it may seem, they assigned it the same number : in short, the Roman calendar had two February 24 during the years leap years The reason was that this day was the sixth before the calends of March (the first day of March), and its duplicate was then understood as the "bi-sixth."
The latter brings us to the etymology of the term leap year, which in fact derived from the Latin language. In the time of the Roman Empire, days were expressed taking into account the time until the following month arrived; February 24, for example, was "the sixth day before March arrives." For this reason, by adding a second day with the same number, it was called the "second sixth" .