[LEAPSECS] other ignored leap conventions

[Tony Finch]

Zefram <zefram at fysh.org> wrote:

>

> And that was obvious when days were routinely described by those

> labels, today and tomorrow both being "ante diem [bis] sextum Kalends

> Martius".


St Mattias day was ante diem sextum kalendas martii, so it usually occured
on the 24th February, but on the 25th in bissextile years. He was moved to
May by the reform of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969.

The old convention was that the two dies sexti were considered the same
day, which avoids the problem of people born on the intercalary day not
having a day to celebrate in common years. Instead they get a
double-length birthday in leap years.

Tony.
-- 
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