In fact, our Earth completes one revolution around the Sun in 365 quarter days. Leap years help align the 12-month calendar with the Earth’s motion around the Sun. Four years later, those extra hours add up to a full day, which is added in February.
The idea of an annual delay dates back to ancient Rome, where people had a calendar of 355 days instead of 365. This is because this calendar is based on the cycles and phases of the moon. The Romans realized that their calendar was out of sync with the seasons and began adding an extra month, Mercedonius, every two years.
In 45 BC, Roman Emperor Julius Caesar instituted a solar calendar based on the solar calendar developed in Egypt. An extra day was added to February every four years to keep the calendar in line with the Earth’s motion around the Sun. To this day, this calendar is called the Julian calendar in honor of Caesar.
Also, over time, people realized that the Earth’s revolution around the Sun takes not exactly 365.25 days, but 365.24219 days. That’s about 11 minutes less.
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII signed a decree making minor changes. There was required to be a leap year every four years, except for “centenary” years (years divisible by 100) (except those divisible by 400). This calendar was called the Gregorian calendar.
Source: Ferra
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