A Leap Day, February 29, is added to the calendar during leapyears. This extra day, also called Leap Year Day, makes the year 366 days long – not 365 days, like a commonyear.
Leap days are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the Sun.
It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days—or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds—to circle once around the Sun. This is called a tropical year.
Without an extra, or intercalary day on February 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year. After only 100 years, a calendar without leap years would be off by approximately 24 days. Seasonal days such as the vernal equinox or the winter solstice would, therefore, shift in relation to the months in the calendar. For example, in 100 years, the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox, which falls in late September, would fall in late August, and in a few centuries, August would become a spring month.
Roman general Julius Caesar implemented the first leap day in his Julian Calendar, which he introduced in 45 BCE. A leap day was added every four years. At the time, leap day was February 24, and February was the last month of the year.
Too Many Leap Years
However, adding a leap day every four years was too often and eventually, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian Calendar. This calendar, which we still use today, has a more precise formula for calculation of leap years, also known as bissextile years.
Leap day as a concept has existed for more than 2000 years and it is still associated with age-old customs, folklore, and superstition. One of the most well-known traditions is that women propose to their boyfriends, instead of the other way around.
The reason there are leap days, and years, is because of the Earth's orbit. The amount of days it takes for the Earth to complete a full revolution around the Sun is not a whole number. The 365 days we experience is actually 365.242190 days, according to the National Air and Space Museum.
Those born on that day don't always get to celebrate their actual birthday — since that date occurs only every four years. Someone born on Leap Day typically celebrates birthdays on Feb.28 or March 1.
A leap year takes place roughly every four years, when an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar, making the total duration of that year 366, not 365, days. The extra day is added at the end of the month of February. Feb. 29 is known as leap day.
The complete list of leap years in the first half of the 21st century is therefore 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2048.
Feb. 29, 2028: 2024 Leap Day babies celebrate their first birthday (4 years old in actual years). Feb. 29, 2032: 2024 Leap Day babies turn 2 (8 years old).
Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are.
Without leap years, the Fourth of July would eventually be in the winter. Leap days, which are tacked on at the end of February every four years, ensure our calendars remain in sync with the Earth's orbit, said Shauna Edson, an astronomy educator at the National Air and Space Museum.
The math is a little complicated, but every 100 years, we skip the leap...unless the year is evenly divisible by 400. So, we skipped the leap in the years 1800 and 1900, but not in 2000. That means we will next skip the leap in the year 2100.
If you're born in a leap year, when can you legally drink, vote, or drive? Legality in terms of drinking and voting is not impacted by leap years, even if someone is "technically" not 18 or 21. If you're born on February 29, your birthday would be observed after 11:59 p.m. on Feb.28 — or March 1 — on non-leap years.
On top of having an extra 24 hours to spend, Feb. 29 is a day filled with unique traditions, folklore and superstitions. And some extra special pop culture references. Remember to wear blue and yellow (if you know you know).
Leap year is a unique phenomenon that only happens every four years, and it's fascinating to think about what happens when a baby is born on February 29th. Leap year babies, also known as leaplings or leapers, hold a special place in our hearts with a birthday that only comes once every four years.
Since about the 15th century, this extra day has been 29 February, but when the Julian calendar was introduced, the leap day was handled differently in two respects. First, leap day fell within February and not at the end: 24 February was doubled to create, strangely to modern eyes, two days both dated 24 February.
To maintain the synchronous timetable of the seasonal year, there is an additional calendar day added to February every four years. “Summer starts around June,” Khan said, “but without the leap years, after a few hundred years we will have summer in November.”
To make the number of days on the calendar add up to 365 in a year, there would have to be one month with an even number. February was chosen to have 28 days as this was when the Romans honoured their dead. Presumably they figured you don't get much unluckier than being dead, so what harm could it do?
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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