What is Leap Day?!
Leap Day, which occur every 4 years, is an extra day added on to February, the 29th day. This occurs because the actual time it takes the Earth to rotate the sun is 365.2421 days. One day is added to the year in order to get the calendar back in sync with the movement of planet and to ensure consistency with the true astronomical year.
Here are a few cool things that you might not know about Leap Day:
Where Leap Year began: The first leap year occurred somewhere around 46 B.C. and was introduced by Julius Caesar. There’s a leap year every year that is divisible by four, except for years that are both divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. For example, the year 2000 was a leap year, but the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not.
Leap year babies: People born on leap day are often called “leaplings” or “leapers.” Most of them celebrate their birthday on Feb. 28 or March 1 on non-leap years.
Leap months in other countries: The Chinese add an entire leap month to their calendar every 3 years. The leap month’s place in the Chinese calendar varies from year to year, and 2015 was a leap year in the Chinese calendar.
On the Ethiopian calendar, a Leap Year occurs when an extra day is added to the last month of the year every four years.
Leap year Love: It’s acceptable for a woman to propose to a man on Feb. 29. The custom has been attributed to St. Bridgid, who is said to have complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for men to propose marriage. St. Brigid struck a deal with St. Patrick to allow women to propose to men, and not just the other way around, every four years.
Historic Leap years: A few momental things occurred during leap years:
-George Armstrong Custer fought the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876)
-Titanic sank (1912)
-Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity (1752)
-Gold was discovered in California (1848)
Leap year capitals: The twin cities of Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, New Mexico, are the self-proclaimed Leap Year Capital of the World. They hold a four-day leap year festival each leap year that includes a huge birthday party for all leap year babies.
Famous leapers: Famous Leap Year babies include motivational speaker Tony Robbins, jazz musician Jimmy Dorsey, composer Gioacchino Rossini, actors Dennis Farina and Antonio Sabato Jr., and rapper/actor Ja Rule.
There’s a leap year club: The Honor Society of Leap Year Babies is a club for people born on Feb. 29. More than 10,000 people worldwide are members.
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