Is 2016 a lucky year? That all depends on how superstitious you are. Leap years date back to the ancient Egyptians, but some superstitions and traditions still persist in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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How to celebrate a leap year in Germany
February 29 only comes around every four years. Is a leap year really unlucky? Here are a few superstitions and traditions that have persisted in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/F. May
How unlucky is a leap year?
Traditionally, leap years have been thought to bring bad luck, though that's never been proven. Want to avoid being unlucky in Germany? Here, lady bugs, pigs, four-leaf clovers and chimney sweeps are set to bring good luck - and could come in handy on February 29.
Image: picture-alliance/F. May
It could still get chilly...
According to an old farmers' proverb, "Schaltjahr wird Kaltjahr" - literally, "leap year will be a cold year." Meteorologists cannot confirm the proverb as a rule. But it would be wise to not pack up your wool sweaters just yet even if the winter months 2019/2020 have actually been unseasonably warm in Germany.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/T. Hase
Put a ring on it
Planning to marry your partner? City halls in Germany probably have plenty of room on February 29. It's not necessarily unlucky, as in Greece, but is not popular. Leap years in general see lots of weddings. In Germany, any more weddings took place in 2004, 2012 and 2016 than previous years.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene
Get lucky in love - with a tree
While leap years are supposed to be unlucky, one rather happy German tradition gets a new twist every four years. In non-leap years in the night before May 1, teenage boys in the Rhine region fell birch trees, decorate them with streamers and affix them to the front of the house of the girl they admire - making a tall and public decoration of love. In leap years, it's the girls turn to do it.
Image: DW/ M.Verlaat
Stay young
You can choose your wedding date, but not your birthday. For children, having to wait four years for their real birthday can be trying, but adults may find it refreshing to stay young. Plus, they have a few celebrity role models in Germany. Top model Lena Gercke and national soccer star Benedikt Höwedes (pictured) were both born on February 29, so the special day certainly can't be that unlucky.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Rudel
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Don't forget: February has 29 days this year because 2016 is a leap year.
What's a leap year?
The calendar year typically includes 365 days, but a leap year has 366. The extra day is added to the end of February, the shortest month.
Years that are divisible by four or 400 qualify as leap years. Every 400 years, three leap days are removed by identifying those '00 years that are not divisible by 400 as non-leap years. 1700, 1800 and 1900 didn't make the cut. The next non-leap year is 2100.
But why?
Technically, the earth needs 365.24219 days to travel around the sun, so our Gregorian calendar isn't quite accurate. That's why the extra quarter-day is added every four years. However, the exceptions are made approximately every century to make up for the fact that even the leap year is a mathematical compromise.
Is this a modern invention?
Nope. Even the ancient Egyptians recognized the math problem and in the third century BC added extra days to their calendars every four years as well. The Roman calendar was similarly inaccurate and Julius Caesar ordered the introduction of a leap year in the first century BC. However, the Romans added February 24 - as a second February 24. That must have bordered on a real-life Groundhog Day.
Our tradition of inserting the extra day in February dates back to Caesar's influence.
In 1582, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, which is the one we follow today. Pope Gregory XII first removed 10 days from the year 1582 to make up for previous inaccuracies. He also introduced the rule of saving three leap days every 400 years.
What's a leap year called in German?
In German, the word for leap year is "Schaltjahr." "Schalt" sounds like it comes from the verb "schalten," which means to switch. Though the meaning - in the sense of switching the calendar forward by one day - seems logical, the term is more likely based on the Old German "scaltjahr," which simply meant an intercalary year, or a year with an extra day.
How to celebrate a leap year in Germany
February 29 only comes around every four years. Is a leap year really unlucky? Here are a few superstitions and traditions that have persisted in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/F. May
How unlucky is a leap year?
Traditionally, leap years have been thought to bring bad luck, though that's never been proven. Want to avoid being unlucky in Germany? Here, lady bugs, pigs, four-leaf clovers and chimney sweeps are set to bring good luck - and could come in handy on February 29.
Image: picture-alliance/F. May
It could still get chilly...
According to an old farmers' proverb, "Schaltjahr wird Kaltjahr" - literally, "leap year will be a cold year." Meteorologists cannot confirm the proverb as a rule. But it would be wise to not pack up your wool sweaters just yet even if the winter months 2019/2020 have actually been unseasonably warm in Germany.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/T. Hase
Put a ring on it
Planning to marry your partner? City halls in Germany probably have plenty of room on February 29. It's not necessarily unlucky, as in Greece, but is not popular. Leap years in general see lots of weddings. In Germany, any more weddings took place in 2004, 2012 and 2016 than previous years.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene
Get lucky in love - with a tree
While leap years are supposed to be unlucky, one rather happy German tradition gets a new twist every four years. In non-leap years in the night before May 1, teenage boys in the Rhine region fell birch trees, decorate them with streamers and affix them to the front of the house of the girl they admire - making a tall and public decoration of love. In leap years, it's the girls turn to do it.
Image: DW/ M.Verlaat
Stay young
You can choose your wedding date, but not your birthday. For children, having to wait four years for their real birthday can be trying, but adults may find it refreshing to stay young. Plus, they have a few celebrity role models in Germany. Top model Lena Gercke and national soccer star Benedikt Höwedes (pictured) were both born on February 29, so the special day certainly can't be that unlucky.
