It just exists, or maybe not? February 29 — or Kasyanov's day

Where did this day come from?

Where did this fickle day come from? Back in 46 BC, Julius Caesar instructed astronomers to find out how long one year lasts. They did the calculations and found that one year lasts 365 days and 6 hours. These 6 hours were usually not taken into account, which is why the calendar was significantly confused.

Therefore, it was decided to create an additional day in the year — February 29, which appears in the calendar once every four years. This year was called a leap year and was immediately dubbed unlucky.

Kasyanov day

According to the folk calendar, February 29 is Kasyanov’s day. On this day, the Orthodox Church remembers St. Kasyan, theologian and founder of monasticism. Despite the fact that Kasyan led a righteous lifestyle, people called him Kasyan the envious and evil. And all because of the same day, incomprehensible to many, which happens once every four years. Previously, in Rus’, the New Year was counted from March, and February 29 was Kasyanov’s day. Therefore, the people believed that after this day the whole year would be bad. After all, according to legend, Kasyan guarded the gates of hell and rested only on this terrible day. Why did Kasyan fall out of favor? Again, according to legend, he didn’t help people much and was proud. In those days, people were so afraid of this day that they preferred to sit at home all day, or even better, sleep through it so that nothing bad would happen.

Born on February 29th

It is also believed that people born on February 29 will be unhappy throughout their lives. They cannot share their thoughts and plans with others, otherwise nothing will come true. According to some reports, only 0.069% of the entire planet’s population has a chance of being born on this day, which is about four million people. At the same time, we take into account only those whose date of birth is officially registered on February 29. Due to inconvenience or common superstitions, many parents who are lucky enough to give birth to a child on February 29 immediately write down another date of birth: either February 28 or March 1.

Proposal from a woman

In some European countries, for example in Ireland, February 29 is considered the only day when a woman can propose marriage to her beloved man. Doing this on other days is a bad omen. Previously, a woman was generally prohibited by law from proposing marriage to a man.

Non-existent day

In many countries, the date February 29 was previously considered non-existent. It was on the calendar, but due to the fact that it was a fickle day, it was forbidden to make legal transactions, get married, and so on on this day.

Here are a few more short signs for February 29:

• It was believed that dreams on the night of February 29 were prophetic.
• It is impossible to welcome guests in the house on this day, and especially to leave them overnight — to illness and misfortune.
• If the day is snowy or foggy, it means the harvest will be good.
• It was believed that this day was dangerous for pets, who could become very sick or even die. Therefore, the cattle were especially protected, talismans were hung and prayers were read.
• If crows are circling over the house, and the dogs don’t bark and the roosters don’t crow, expect trouble.

Source: sm-news.ru