Are you a "leapling?" No, not like this Eurasian red squirrel; rather, that"s the term for anyone born on leap day! A leap year is a calendar oddity that exists because Earth"s orbit and our usual year count are slightly out of sync. Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds, to revolve around the sun. To compensate for those extra 5 hours, February gets an extra day—leap day—every four years. The concept, dating back to the ancient Romans, was refined in the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. While the purpose of the day is to keep our year aligned with the solar calendar, it can also serve as an extra day to prepare for spring! Cultures worldwide mark leap days and years with unique customs. In Ireland and Britain, women propose to men, in Greece, marrying during a leap year is said to bring misfortune, and in France, a satirical newspaper is published.
Leap Day
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Coll dAres, Catalan Pyrenees
-
Huddled and hunting
-
Peek-a-boo, I see you!
-
Dusky eagle-owls, Pakistan
-
A labyrinth of luxury
-
Masterpiece of acoustic science
-
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Central Pacific Ocean
-
Sports where you least expect it
-
Happy Thanksgiving!
-
St. Paul Winter Carnival
-
Traditional red fishermens cabins, Reine, Norway
-
Who’s snoozing?
-
Farewell, Ma’am
-
VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver
-
Teddy bears of the sea
-
National Frog Month
-
Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
-
Horse Head Rock, New South Wales, Australia
-
Holiday hues
-
Books are mans best friend
-
Rising with the sun
-
Surrounded by a sea of sand
-
Ever seen garlic bloom?
-
A grove glows green
-
Like paint on a canvas
-
Palazzo Zuccari, Rome
-
Sequoias of the sea
-
Pumpkin field, Victoria, British Columbia
-
Out of this world
-
Trunks packed for road