Why 2024 be leap year and wetin be leap year traditions?

Dem add additional one day inside our calendars, wey make am a leap year. Dis year get 366 days instead of di usual 365.

Di shortest month of di year get di extra day, and 29 February na di leap day, wey get cultural traditions and superstitious beliefs.

In general, leap years dey occur every four years. Di last one na for 2020 and di next one dey scheduled for 2028.

But exceptions dey to dis rule, wey we go explain later, plus di various traditions wey dey around di world.

Why we get leap years?

A calendar year na typically 365 days long, becos dis na di time e dey take di Earth to complete one orbit of di Sun. But 365 actually na rounded-down number.

Actually, e dey take di Earth exactly 365.242190 days to complete an orbit. Dem dey call am sidereal year.

Di sidereal year dey slightly longer dan di calendar year, so dem gatz deduct di extra hours, minutes and seconds down di road.

By adding extra day evri so often, our calendar years dey adjusted and e dey stay in sync wit di seasons.

Wetin be di leap year traditions?

Various traditions and superstitions dey wey dey associated wit leap years.

Bachelor Day, wey sometimes dey known as Ladies' Privilege, na Irish tradition. Dis tradition dey allow women propose to men on a leap day.

Of course in modern times, women fit propose to men on any day of di year dem like, but dis tradition supposedly bin go back to di 5th Century. Dis tradition dey based on di legend of Saint Bridget and Saint Patrick.

Dem say Bridget bin complain give Patrick say women dey wait too long to marry because men dey slow to propose. She bin ask say make dem give women di opportunity.

Traditions also dey ground for wen dem refuse di woman proposal. Di man go gatz compensate di wannabe bride, typically by buying her gloves or silk gowns.

For oda cultures, dem dey consider leap day a day of bad luck.

For Greece, traditionally na bad advice to marry for leap year - and especially on a leap day. Tradition get am say any marriage wey happun for leap year go end for divorce.

For Scotland, pipo use to believe say leap day na wen witches dey gada to cause trouble. Some Scots still consider say to born pikin on 29 February na bad luck.

On di contrary, some cultures see am as a lucky birthday. Some astronomers even believe say if your birthday fall on a leap day, you go become uniquely gifted.

Why di leap day dey for February?

Dem fit trace di choice of February as di month to add a leap day go back Julius Caesar calendar reforms for ancient Rome.

Caesar bin introduce di Julian calendar, wey include a leap year to align di calendar year wit di solar year.

Even afta di Julian calendar bin evolve into di Gregorian calendar for 1582, di tradition of adding a leap day to February continue.

What if we no get leap years?

If we no get leap year and no account for di extra time between calendars, den di seasons go begin drift.

Ova a period of about 700 years, for example, summer for northern hemisphere go begin occur for December instead of June.

How often leap year dey occur?

Most pipo believe say leap years dey occur once every four years, but dat no always be di case.

Dis na becos of di difference between di sidereal year (di precise number of days, hours, minutes and seconds) and calendar years ova a period of four years no be exactly 24 hours. Actually na 23.262222 hours.

So, dis difference gatz dey accounted for too.

Di rule na say a year dey considered a leap year if dem fit divide am by four to produce a whole number.

One exception na di years wey dem fit divide by 100 - dem no dey considered as leap years.

However, if a year produce a whole number wen divided by 400, dem still fit consider am as a leap year.

E sound complicated? Make we explain wit di following examples:

Di year 2000 na leap year - sake of say dem fit divide both by 4 and by 400.

But dem no fit divide di years 1700, 1800, and 1900 by 4 but not by 400, so dem no be leap years.

Di next time dem go skip a leap year na for di year 2100.