The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-02-28
Extra Dividend Given Earth DweIlers In 40
Father Time Throws in Extra Day-Onigin of Leap Year Dates All Way Back to Egyptians

ulate. This eror amounts to an inc creaseof % seconds every year, &C., to P. W. Wilson, author of ''The Romance of the Calendar" It will require 3.323 years for this error to amount to one day. Dates can be kept in their proper places until 400O under the present Gregorian system.
 Eventually some change will have to be made in Leap Year rules in order to reduce even further the calendars error. In a pamphlet by the United States Bureau of Ed ucation, a simple correction is sug- gested: ''The year 4OOO by Pope Gregory's rule should be Leap Year. If 1t is kept common year and if all those years the numbers of which can be divided by 4OO0 are kept as common years, our calendar will keep so well in step with the travelling of the earth around the sun that no date will move more than one day from its proper place for 10000 years"
 Why is Leap Year Day put on the end of February? The answer is that Caesar, following traditional Roman custom of his day, inserted the added day at the end of Feb uary because February was the last month of the ancient Roman cal- endar.
 There was a tendency among an- cient Romans, however, to begin the New Year whenever new consuls en- tered office which naturally caused great confusion. A New Year rule was adopted about 9 B. 0. fixing With the expansion of the Roman Empire this date was found to be too late in the winter so that in 153 B. 0. the New Year date was set for January 1 without changing the names of months. December still retained its name as of the tenth month although 1t actually became the twelfth month in the year from 153 B. 0. onward. Caesar, in his cal- endar reform, made no change 11 the date of the Roman New Years Day. In later centuries, however, over Europe, January l, considered with the spread of Christianity as a pagan festival, fell into disfav- or for the beginningfof the year and March 25 became Ire first day of the year among certain nations. It was not until 1882 A. D. that January was restored to its position as New Years Day by Pope Gregory XIII, but 1t was not nutil 1799 that this restoration over Western Europe be- came general.
 Why is Leap Year called Leap? No very satisfactory theory has been advanced by the Photographers. Back in 1704 learned historical writer explained: Tt is 50 called be- cause one day of the week is leaped over in the observance of religious festivals, by reason of the additional day in that year." But this some- what obtruse explanation is denied by other authorities. The name is probably 8 miSnomer. There is ac- tually no real "leap" in the calendar. as there would be if Leap Year were one day shorter than ordinary years instead of one day longer.
 The traditional privilege of the Leap Year has its origin in legisla- ton enacted in Scotland in 1288.
 The old Scotch law, which appar- ently has never been formally re- pealed, said in part: "It IS statut and ordaint that during the rein of mir maist blissit Mageste, for ilk yeare knowne as lepe yeare, ilk mayden 1adye of bothe highe and lowe estait shall hae liberte to be- speake ye man she likes"
 What of Leap Year in the cale11- dar of the future? Calendar re- visions, in The World Calendar plan, thus far formally approved by IA nations, will trasfer the Leap-Year Day from February 29 to the end of June.
 The New World Calendar aims to make "every year the same" The 12 months will be divided into four identical quarters of 91 dave each, with an extra day at the end of the year to make up the required an- nual total of 365. On the equal- quarter plan, every three months would be exactly alike. The first month of each quarter would have 31 days, and the remaining two months would have 30 days each. The first day of each quarter would be a Sunday. If a person memories the calendar for a quarterly period, he will never have to look at cal- endar again. It will have become as regular as the clock.
 Leap-Year Day is observed in some parts of Europe as an informal holiday, particularly for the ex- change of greetings. Only one man. ufacturer of greeting cards in Amer lea appears to have recognized 1t, and this lone Leap-Year-Day card is a facetious one, bearing this verse: