We've been taught since we were children that there are 365 days in a year, so why do we add an extra day every four years? It's all because a complete orbit of the earth around the sun takes exactly 365.2422 days, so we add this extra day every fourth year to keep our clocks in sync with earth's orbit.
That makes sense, doesn't it? But why February? All the other months on our calendar have either 30 or 31 days; why did poor February get stuck with 28?
Turns out that back in the day, the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus had quite an ego. His predecessor, Julius Caesar, had the month of July named after him, and July has 31 days. At the time Caesar Augustus came to power, "his" month (August) only had 29 days, so he robbed some days from February and added them to August so "his" month would have the same number of days as July. Never underestimate the ego of a politician!
There are a number of legends surrounding this leap day. One such legend is that women can propose to men on Leap Day. According to one of the legends, back in the 5th century, an Irish nun, Saint Bridget, complained to Saint Patrick that women were having to wait too long for their suitors to propose. So, according to the legend, Saint Patrick then gave women the opportunity to pop the question every four years!
There is also the theory that Queen Margaret of Scotland was behind the fabled Scottish law of 1288, which allowed unmarried women the freedom to propose during a leap year, and the man who refused was handed a fine. That seems a little questionable, to say the least, since Queen Margaret died when she was eight years old and scholars can find no record of such a law.
Do a Google search and you will find all sorts of interesting trivia about this day. But what does that all really have to do with you and me, other than having an extra day in February this year? Of course, if you were born on February 29, this is one of the years you celebrate your birthday on the actual day, rather than a day early or a day late. Other than that, it really doesn't make all that much difference, does it?
We don't typically spend a lot of our time contemplating the inaccuracies of our calendar. We might get excited at the thought of having an extra day to catch up, except that this Monday will likely be the same as all other Mondays. We will get up and go to work, or we will get up and go about the usual tasks we do on Mondays.
What if we made this day different? What if we took a "leap of faith" today? What if, on this extra day we spent some extra time in prayer, interceding for others?
What if we spent extra time praying for our spouses? Praying for our families? Praying for our nation? Praying for the lost? And the homeless? And the hurting?
What if?
What a difference that could make!
On this Leap Day, will you be a difference-maker?
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them." (1 Timothy 2:1 NLT)
There is also the theory that Queen Margaret of Scotland was behind the fabled Scottish law of 1288, which allowed unmarried women the freedom to propose during a leap year, and the man who refused was handed a fine. That seems a little questionable, to say the least, since Queen Margaret died when she was eight years old and scholars can find no record of such a law.
Do a Google search and you will find all sorts of interesting trivia about this day. But what does that all really have to do with you and me, other than having an extra day in February this year? Of course, if you were born on February 29, this is one of the years you celebrate your birthday on the actual day, rather than a day early or a day late. Other than that, it really doesn't make all that much difference, does it?
We don't typically spend a lot of our time contemplating the inaccuracies of our calendar. We might get excited at the thought of having an extra day to catch up, except that this Monday will likely be the same as all other Mondays. We will get up and go to work, or we will get up and go about the usual tasks we do on Mondays.
What if we made this day different? What if we took a "leap of faith" today? What if, on this extra day we spent some extra time in prayer, interceding for others?
What if we spent extra time praying for our spouses? Praying for our families? Praying for our nation? Praying for the lost? And the homeless? And the hurting?
What if?
What a difference that could make!
On this Leap Day, will you be a difference-maker?
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them." (1 Timothy 2:1 NLT)
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