The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-01-20
Leap Year.
From the n. Y. Herald.

From the n. Y. Herald.
The year 1860 is Leap Year." and con-
sists Of 366 days, one day being added to
the shortest month, February, which will,
therefore, have Twenty-Five days this year
and on its last, or additional day, is claimed
by the ladies privilege which belongs at
all other times to the conference.-the priv.
iege of popping the question" Leap
Year occurs every fourth year, and is so
called because it leaps over day more than
does any ordinary year. For instance, in
other years, if Christmas day or New Years
day fall on Sunday, it will fall on Monday
in the following year but in Leap Year, it
will fall on Tuesday, being thus two days
later in the week, instead of one. 1t is also
called bissixtile-from the Latin bis, twice,
and Sertus, sixth-meaning that the sixth of
the caends of March corresponding to the
oath of February was reckoned twice every
fourth year by the INTERPOLATION of a day.
The necessity for Leap Year arises from the
fact that the solar year does not correspond
exactly with the civil year, in consequence
of its not ending exactly with given day,
but with fraction of day. If it were
not for this arrangement Christmas in course
of time would be in midsummer, and the
Fourth of July in the depth of winter.
The true year consists of the time it takes
for the earth to make one revolution around
the sun, which is determine by its coming
back to the same point in the zodiac from
which it started; but as the calender must
consist of complete days, these six hours are
omitted, and in four years they make up
l. ,r,bop 10 o11a1 70 ba
making what is called Leap Year. This,
however is not strictly correct, for it is as
certained by accurate calculations that
solar year is exactly 365 days, 5 hours, As
minutes and 81 seconds consequently, in
putting on the six hours, we add Il minutes
l24 seconds in four years. This in the
course of 1857 years would amount to
twenty-four hours, or complete day. Ev-
ery wear the number of which is divisible by
four without remainder is a Leap Year,
except the last year Of the century, which is
a Leap Year only when divisible by 400
without a remainder. Thus the year 1000
will not be Leap Year.
The Roman year originally had but ten
months, as may be seen in the meaning of
the name December, which is "Tenth month"
March was the first month of the year in the
time of Romulus, and December was the
last. But Numa Pompilus, who knew as
tronomy better, added January and Febru-
airy.
While Rome's great founder made the times
his care,
Ten months he chose to constitute year;
But Numa, better skilled in astrolore,
To Romulus' adjOined two more.
The EUvptiaOS wprp tho first who ans
proximated to the real length of the year,
which they made to consist of 300 days.
They afterwards added FIVE days, as was
done by Thales, one of the seven wise men
of the Greeks. The Jews, Syrians, Eth
opians, Romans, Persians, and Arabs, all
had years of different lengths.
The day on which the year commences is
also different in different countries, but in
all it is held in great veneration. The jew
ish historical year commences with the new
moon near the vernal equinox March 22)
aud the civil year near the autumnal equi-
nox. The Mahomedans begin their year
on the day when the sun enters Avies; the
Persians in the month which answers to our
June; the Chinese and Indians with the
first new moon which happens in March
and the Mexicans on the 22d of February,
at which time the verdure in their country
begins to appear. William the Conqueror
having been crowned on the first day OF
January, gave occasion to the English to
begin their year on that day, in order to
make it correspond with the most remark.
able date in their history.
Though the historical year begins in Eng
land on the festival of the Circumcision, or
first day of January, on which day the Ger
man and Italian begins, yet the civil or legal
year did not commence till the day OF the
Annunciation of of TIE Virgin, the 18th OF
March. The part of the year between
those terms was usually expressed IN both
these ways: either 1889 or la 9-S.
But by the act altering the style the civil
year now begins with the lst of January.
The old style followed the Julian method OF
computing the year. by the calendar estab-
lished by Julius Caesar, in which every
fourth wear consists OF 3G6 days, and the
other years OF 800. This Julian arrange
ment OF time makes, as we have seen,
eleven minutes and some seconds in year
too much.
Pope Gregory XIII. reformed the calen.
dar by retrenchng ten days in October
1892, in order to bring back the vernal eqi-
nox to the same day as at the Council of
Nice, a. d. 325. This reformation was
adopted by act of Parliament in Great
Britain in l75l, by which eleven days in
September, 1852, were dropped and the third
day reckoned the fourteenth. This mode OF
reckoning is called new style. Such was
the fanaticiSm Of the Puritans and other
Protestants at that time, that because the
reform emanated from the Pope, they de-
nounced the change, and said eleven days
were stolen from them. Many to this time
keep "old Christmas day." or the day on
which the festival would fall if the style was
not altered.
Republican De fe at Anticipated iii 1850.