Once every 4 years, in a leap year, it happens on February 29th. This date had to be introduced due to the presence of contradictions between the earthly calendar and the astronomical. People born on this day, as a rule, celebrate it on February 28 or March 1. However, some of those born on this unusual day celebrate it exclusively on February 29. It turns out that the holiday only happens once every 4 years. Therefore, people born on February 29, try to spend it very original.
The reason for the "extra" day in the year, statistics
The astronomical year in exact terms is 365.2425 days. Based on this, it follows that the digits after the decimal point for 4 years add up almost in one day. This circumstance also requires the introduction of a separate day once every 4 years. Otherwise, the calendar is in conflict with the seasons.
Are there any people born on February 29th? Statistics assure that there are enough of them, they used the chance of birth on this day as 1/1461. Moreover, there are currently about 5 million people living on earth who celebrate their birthday exclusively on this date.
Julian calendar
In 46 BC e. Emperor of Rome Julius Caesar, following the advice of local astronomers, carried out a reform of the calendar, since then it has been around 500 leap years. The Julian calendar (by the name of the initiator of the reform) was adopted for widespread use. It was an attempt to harmonize the relationship between astronomical and terrestrial time. However, she was unsuccessful.
The error in the reckoning was noticed quite late, when the discrepancies reached almost 10 days.
Gregorian calendar
So in the XVI century, due to the above deficiency of the Julian calendar, Easter had to be celebrated in winter. This iconic religious holiday was shifted to the winter time of the year by 15 days. The vernal equinox fell on March 11th.
To eliminate this problem, in 1582, under the watchful eye of Pope Gregory XIII, a new, modern calendar was adopted. According to him, the count of days was moved forward. The vernal equinox returned again by March 21st.
In the Gregorian calendar, whose name was given in honor of Gregory XIII, the leap year was the one whose number of days can be divided by 4 without a remainder (with the exception of the so-called zero years).
On the territory of Russia, the Gregorian calendar was put into effect only in January 1918, in accordance with the order of the Council of People's Deputies. However, the Russian Orthodox Church continues to build its activities according to the old style (Julian calendar). For the Russian Orthodox Church, the transition to the Gregorian calendar would have caused violations in the observance of church canons, including non-compliance with the categorical ban on the celebration of Easter earlier than Jewish or on the same day as the Jews.
Signs, superstition
On the day of February 29 in the world there are many superstitions, legends, omens. On this day, according to the Orthodox calendar, Saint Kasyan celebrates his name day. The Slavic peoples did not receive this name due to the fact that Kasyanov Day (February 29) was considered dangerous, unlucky. So, in Bulgaria they believed that demons stole Kasyana in infancy. This circumstance led to his evil and envious character.
Until recently, some nationalities believed that people born on February 29 have magical powers, they can prophesy, as a result of which they were forced to retreat, but they were also protected.
Day of rare diseases in European countries is celebrated on this day.
And at present, there are still many people who are convinced that this is a dangerous date when trouble can be expected, that if a person is born on February 29, then in life he will not expect anything good. A leap year is unfavorable.
John Cassian - Saint Cassian
It is believed that the year when Kasyan celebrates his name day, brings problems, losses, troubles.
According to another common legend among the Slavic peoples, on the way to paradise, Kasyan and Nikolai Ugodnik met with a peasant, whose cart was stuck in the mud. The latter turned to them for help. Kasyan refused the suffering, did not want to dirty his clothes. Nikolai Ugodnik, on the contrary, came to the rescue and together with the peasant they pulled a cart out of the mud. Upon their arrival in paradise, God, having seen the soiled clothes of Nicholas and pure Kasyan, punished the latter for ignoring the requests of ordinary people to deprive a name day.
According to Slavic mythology, Kasyan is in charge of protecting the entrance to hell. He has the right to take a break from his worries once every 4 years, then 12 apostles perform his work.
In real life, Kasyan - John Cassian, a monk, was quite famous in the Orthodox world. He was a theologian, wrote works on the morality of Christians. For a righteous life and the height of thoughts, the church assigned him to the face of saints.
The day of the name day of "evil Kasyan" among the Slavs was considered unsuccessful. The superstition that the meeting on Kasyan’s path did not lead to anything good was widespread enough. You can lose health, good luck. On this day, they tried not to show up; they did not drive cattle to graze.
People born 29 february, how is this day celebrated?
But despite all the prejudices, indeed, for those who were born on this date, it is uncomfortable. Celebrate, according to established traditions, they have the opportunity once every 4 years. For them, the question remains of what to do if a person was born on February 29.
The famous German Georg Lichtenberg came to their aid. He wrote for such persons a popular essay: “Born on February 29.” It recommended following the established scheme for celebrating a birthday.
People born February 29 to 6 in the morning, on the advice of Lichtenberg, should celebrate the birthday on February 28. Born at the end of the day, celebrate your birthday on March 1. Those who were born between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. recommends that they celebrate the holiday on the 28th day of the second month of the year for 2 consecutive years, and the 3rd year is March 1. People born on February 29 between noon and 18 hours must celebrate the 1st year on the 28th, and the next two on March 1st. Moreover, he assures everyone that in three years, February 29 will come anyway.