The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-05-14
CALENDAR C~URiOSlTlES,
Throughout Seven Years There Will
BE No February 30 After 1896.

BE No February 30 After S3
The Introduction of an additional day
into the calendar one III iour years is
necessary to prevent the average year
from being too short. At the same
time it makes the average year Il little
too long. This additional length is so
slight that it accumulatcS very slow
ly. Nevertheless it does accumulate,
and by the end OF Il century it amounts
to nearly a day. For that reason once
in 100 years the additional day which
marks Il year as leap year is omitted,
and the average length OF the year is
reduced.
The English law determined in 1IJ1
on reforms in this calendar. and from
those we draw and use. TIL" original
determination of the calendar was
made by the Pope. and afterward it was
adopted by all the countries except
Russia and the east. From Jan II,
1852, the civil year was made to begin
on that date, and not on March /, as
many had it. In the same year eleven
days were dropped from the calendar,
from the 3D. to the 18th inclusive, so
that what would have been the l4th
became the I'd.
With this change effected the remain
der of the calendar followed its usual
course BY this change the day which
would have been Dec. - became Jan.
). 1t was from this that the latter
derived its name of Old Christmas
day.
The further regulation of the calen-
dar occurred in emitting the year 1900
from the number of leap years. There
fore in 1901 Old Christmas day fell on
Jan. 8, and from that time until this
that is the day of the month called by
that name.
In Riders British Merlin" for 1901
we find It stated that 1900 is not to be
a leap year, while 1901 is to be the fifth
leap year b~issextile. or leap year.
and the first year of the twentieth cen
tury. For this century the first leap
year was 1904, which is described as
such in the almanacs which were then
current.
one old almanac for 1900. Moore'S,
names the year a the fourth after
bisseXtile, or leap year, and then states
that, in spite of it's being the fourth
year from leap year 1876, the month
of February had only twenty-eight
days. Following this fashion, 1852 is
called the sixth year after b~isseXtile,
and 1903 the seventh.
Curious as all this appears to us. it
is precisely what we will soon do.
Throughout seven years there will be
no Feb. % after 1896. All of the births
and other events which occur on that
unfortunate day of the month will have
no opportunity to celebrate their an
niverSary. That eccentric date. Feb.
%, will then have an opportunity for
brought on by its absence.
The calendar adjustment by which
these matters were arranged reaches
forward to Il distance that is startling
to one whose term of life is the seven
ty years of man. 1t declared that the
years 1900, 1900. 2100, 1900, or any
other hundredth year in time to come
shall consist of 365 days and no more.
But the fact also remains that this ad-
justment of the calendar was not
quite accurate. The M day omitted
in the century made the average year
Il very little too short.
To remedy this defect the adjusters
made the following exception to the
rule making the hundredth year of 800
days, except every fourth hundredth
year beginning with the year 2OO0.
These years will be leap years. that is,
the years 2000, 2400, $500, 1900 will
have Il Feb. %. But their DAYS are not
of great concern to us.