Feminists' favorite date and 300-billion-dollar increase in GDP
What is remarkable about the day of February 29?
Leap years are popularly considered difficult. However, it is really difficult for people who were born on this day. In fact, three times in 4 years, they remain without a birthday and celebrate it either on March 1 or February 28 (which, according to research, occurs much less often — apparently, the superstition about the undesirability of celebrating a birthday earlier is still in force). In ancient times, on this date, people called to “kill Koshchei”, and in Scotland and Ireland they came up with a holiday for women experiencing unrequited love. For some, it's just an extra day of winter, and for sports leagues — it's a great opportunity to add an extra day to the busy calendar of games. About what else is remarkable about the day of February 29 — read in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Koshchei day
Since ancient times, February 29 was considered the strangest day of the year. In a leap year, disasters, catastrophes, diseases, prolonged famine and wars were traditionally expected. In ancient Russia, on еhis day, people called for “killing Koshchei”. Kasyan, also Koshchei, was the incarnation of all the evil. It was believed that his death was hidden in an egg, and everyone on the night of March 1 had to crush one raw egg in his hand. Thus Koshchei came to death, and the end — to winter. If you crushed an egg that a hen laid on Christmas day, you could also expect a warm March. Such are the beliefs.
Be born and die on February 29
According to various sources, there are only about four million people in the world who were born on this date. Those who have the “February 29" entry in the “date of birth” column traditionally have a problem with celebrating a birthday: when to celebrate in non-leap years — a day earlier or later? Some parents also prefer not to record this date in their children's documents — they choose February 28 (much less often) or March 1. By the way, the probability of being born on this day is 1 in 1461. Among famous people were born on February 29, for example, the author of the opera The Barber of Seville, Gioachino Rossini, the creator of the first submarine for the American Navy, John Philip Holland, famous jazz player Glenn Miller, Soviet actress Irina Kupchenko, the designer of rocket and space technology of the USSR, Boris Chertok, Soviet writer Fedor Abramov, Olympic champion in ski racing Raisa Smetanina.
It is interesting to look at the list of those who died on this date. It is famous Soviet chess player Lev Abramov, French artist and creator of 'boulle technique' furniture style, Andre-Charles Boulle, and Italian mathematician Giuseppe Vitali. A rare case is associated with the eighth Prime Minister of Tasmania, who lived in the 19th century: James Milne Wilson, born and died on February 29.
The day of “rejected girls”
Everyone knows about the holiday of mutual love — Valentine's Day, but few have heard that on February 29 St Oswald's Day is celebrated. It is also dedicated to love, but unrequited. According to legend, it is on this day that every girl who is in love unrequited should express their feelings. At one time in Scotland, the fair sex even made a marriage proposal to the men they liked. By the way, the chosen one who refused paid the girl a kind of fine — 100 pounds.
In the last century, representatives of well-known American feminist groups even managed to declare this day one of the best of the year, and in some states, even at the legislative level, they introduced the right of women to propose to men. In the United States, the date was named Sadie Hawkins Day — after the heroine of the comic book, the first edition of which appeared in 1937. The story is simple: Sadie was 35 years old, lonely, and extremely tired of it. The desperate father, using his high position, decided to gather all the male bachelors of the city and arrange a chase game for his daughter. The one she caught became her husband.
In Europe, on February 29, it is customary to celebrate the international day of rare diseases.
The country's GDP is increasing
As you know, the calendar, in which each year, a multiple of four, had an additional day in February, was developed by the Alexandrian astronomers. It is interesting that once every 4 years this affects the global gross product — it, of course, increases. Let us note that in 2019, Russia's GDP was 109 trillion 361.5 billion rubles, or about 300 billion rubles a day. It is for this amount that our country will produce products and provide services today.
Finally, 29 February 2020 is the last day when you need to get additional documents to drive rare vehicles. This rule applied to motorcycles, cars and trailers 30 years and older, as well as trucks, buses, and trailers older than 50 years that are not intended for commercial transportation of passengers and cargo.