intercalation

chronology

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intercalation, insertion of days or months into a calendar to bring it into line with the solar year (year of the seasons). One example is the periodic inclusion of leap-year day (February 29) in the Gregorian calendar now in general use. To keep the months of a lunar calendar (e.g., the Hindu calendar) in their proper seasons, an entire month must be intercalated periodically, because there are a fractional number (between 12 and 13) of cycles of lunar phases (months) in a solar year. In cultures without highly developed astronomy, intercalation was done empirically, whenever seasons and their properly associated months became noticeably out of step.

This article was most recently revised and updated by William L. Hosch.