What is a leap year?

A leap year

is a solar calendar year that is one day longer than normal.

That is, it lasts 366, not 365 days.

The most common today on the planet is the Gregorian calendar, according to which February 29 is an "extra" day in a leap year.

A special leap year was introduced into the calendar in order to even out the time shift that occurs due to the difference between the tropical year (the period of the sun's rotation) and the generally accepted calendar.

In the first, there are

365 days, 5 hours and 49 minutes

.

If there were no leap years, the annual overlap of almost 6 hours would over time give a gradual shift in the seasons, which could cause misunderstandings and inconveniences.

People have thought about the shift of seasons for a long time.

As early as 45 BC

a leap year was introduced for the first time.

Julius Caesar did it for his "Julian" calendar.

Then the extra day was not in February, but in March.

It was called "bis sextus" and it was the second sixth day of the month.

The chronology system has been improved more than once.

As a result, the modern calendar was created, which has been in effect since 1582.

How to calculate whether 2023 will be a leap year

Special "leap" years are those whose number is a multiple of 4 and is not divisible by 100. Although there are exceptions here too — all years that are multiples of 400 (for example, 1600, 2000, 2400).

So, to calculate whether 2023 will be a leap year, you need to remember

three basic rules

:

  • if the number of the year is a multiple of 400 — 366 days in a year;

  • if the number is a multiple of 4 and not a multiple of 100, there are also 366 days in a year;

  • if the number is not a multiple of 100 and not a multiple of 400 — 365 days a year.

Thus, after conducting a simple calculation, you can understand that 2023 will not be a leap year.

The number of its days will be equal to 365, and in February there will be 28 days.

The nearest leap year will be 2024, and in this century there will be years of 366 days:

When are the leap years of this century / Photo: TSN.ua

Classic calendar for 2023

It is worth noting that the entire difference between a leap year and a non-leap year is in the number of days in February.

All other months have a fixed number of days (30 or 31).

We offer you a complete classic calendar for 2023 with an indication of how many days there are in February and other months:

Classic calendar for 2023 / Photo: TSN.ua

That is, the non-leap year 2023 will begin on Sunday, January 1, and will also end on Sunday, December 31.

You can find out about weekends and holidays that await Ukrainians in 2023 from our

material

.

Will 2023 be a leap year according to the Eastern calendar

According to the Eastern calendar, the New Year of the Black Water Rabbit will arrive on January 22, 2023 and will last until February 9, 2024, when it will give way to the year of the Green Wood Dragon.

That is, according to Chinese tradition, this year will last 383 days.

And 2023 will be a leap year according to this calendar.

And all because the Eastern calendar is connected with the solar-lunar cycle.

There are other features that distinguish the Chinese calendar from the one used by Ukrainians:

  • a more pronounced difference between an ordinary and a leap year (as a rule, an ordinary year according to the Eastern calendar lasts 353-355 days, and a leap year - 383-385 days);

  • in a leap year, not one day is added here, but a whole month;

  • The Eastern calendar is cyclical (one cycle is 60 years), and the calendar we are used to is endless;

  • in China there is no numerical designation of the year, instead each year has its own patron and element (for example, 2023 will be the year of the Black Water Rabbit).

The current Chinese 60-year cycle began on February 2, 1984.

That is, the coming year 2023 will be the 40th year in the cycle.

Read also:

  • New Year 2023: which animal will become a symbol according to the eastern calendar and what to expect from it

  • The main colors of the New Year 2023 according to the eastern calendar: will bring happiness and success