Leap Year 2024: What Is a Leap Year, Who Is a Leapling and More Fun Facts About February 29

Happy Leap Day! Don’t start jumping in just yet, though; this holiday has nothing to do with frogs or ballet. It’s more about catching up with the Gregorian calendar and the rotation of the sun.

Leap Day is the rarest date on which anything can happen – especially for those lucky enough to be born on February 29 – but it’s not without its perks or its share of historical events.

One memorable leap day was the 10th annual Grammy Awards (February 29, 1968), which so far served as the only time the ceremony landed on a unique day. The Beatles celebrated by taking home their fourth and fifth Grammys Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band won both album of the year and best contemporary album.

To learn more about the elusive holiday, here are some fun facts about Leap Day.

What is a leap year?

Julius Caesar.

Science Source/History of Photography Researchers/Getty

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the one used in most parts of the world, usually consists of 365 days, but every four years we have a year with 366 days—a leap year. However, it’s not just an arbitrary addition that makes us work one extra day in February; the reasons for this are actually scientific.

Earth takes approximately 365 days to complete its orbit around the Sun. We say “roughly” because it really takes 365.2422 days to make a full revolution. It’s pretty hard to have 0.2422 days (although anything is possible with long enough sleep), so every four years there’s a leap year to make up for.

You might think that adding one such miserable day isn’t much, but it is!

Fun fact: It was Julius Caesar who came up with the initial solution, adding a day to February, while Pope Gregory XIII (who is responsible for the Gregorian calendar) made several revisions that became our current calendar.

How often is a leap year?

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A leap year occurs every four years, but due to mathematics there are several times in history when every fourth year is not and will not be a leap year.

A centennial year cannot be a leap year only if is divisible by 400. This means that 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, but 2000 was, and 2400 was. want be a leap year.

What happens if you were born on a leap year?

I Rule. Paras Griffin/Getty

If you were born on February 29, you’re not just birthday twins with Ja Rule, you’re technically age slower than other people. Okay, so you’re still getting old, but you celebrate your birthday every four years, which means that if you turn 40, you’ll technically only be 10. The good news is that you can still celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese without judgment!

The odds of being born on a leap day are pretty slim: on any given day there’s a 1 in 365 chance you were born, but on a leap day the odds are 1 in 1,461.

For leaplings — a nickname for someone with a leap day birthday — it can be a big dilemma deciding which day to celebrate: February 28 or March 1. It all depends on personal preferences.

Here are some fun leap year activities

Matthew Goode and Amy Adams in ‘Leap Year’.

Benderspink/Kobal/Shutterstock

One way to celebrate a leap year is by watching a movie Leap year, which is based on a real-life tradition in Ireland that a woman can propose to a man on Leap Day. The 2010 film stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

If you don’t like rom-coms, give the leap day episodes a go Modern family, Parks and recreation, Middle and 30 Rock to go.

You can also get into the Leap Day spirit by celebrating as the characters do 30 Rockdoing things you’d never normally do while wearing yellow and blue.

Don’t forget to check out the special offers available for the holidays, including new breakfast items.

Happy Leap Day!

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education