[Ansteorra] Happy Leap Day!

[Galen of Ockham, OP]

   I may be in a different time zone, but I'm not running 5 days fast.
   Most people naturally assume the leap day is the 29th because that is a
   date that doesn't appear in February except in a leap year. But
   historically, the inserted day occurred on what we now call February
   24th.


   The Romans determined they could make up the discrepancy between the
   365.2422 days of an actual (astronomical) year and the 365 days in the
   calendar by adding an extra day once every four years. For whatever
   reason, they picked the 6th day (inclusive counting) before the first
   of March to double. In the Roman calendar, the normal day was called
   ante diem sextum Kalendas Martii (the sixth day before the first of
   March). The inserted day was the ante diem bis sextum Kalendas Martii
   (the second sixth day before the first of March). The extra day was
   inserted before the normal day. Thus, when the calendar was converted
   to our modern convention of numbering the days sequentially, the extra
   day corresponded to the 24th of February.


   Make the best of your extra day this year knowing you're enjoying it on
   its proper historical date.


   Galen


   More info on the Roman calendar can be found on my Natural Philosophy
   website medievalscience.org under the section on Time.

   --

   Magister Galenus Ockhamnesis
   Friar Galen of Ockham, OP
   A Study in Natural Philosophy: [1]http://medievalscience.org
   Chirurgeon's Point: [2]http://chirurgeon.org

References

   1. http://medievalscience.org/
   2. http://chirurgeon.org/