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What is a Leap Day? Significance, Meaning, and Interesting Facts About The Day Which Falls Once In 4 Years
2024 has 366 days, hence February has 29 days rather than 28. This is a natural occurrence that occurs every four years.
2024 is a leap year, so today, February 29 is a once-in-four-year event. Our last leap days were in 2020 and 2016, and the next leap year will occur in 2028.
And because this is a rare occasion, people are commemorating it in various ways, with businesses giving special bargains and others finally marking their February 29th birthday.
What is a Leap Year?
Leap days are extra days added to the calendar. During a leap year, which occurs every four years, leap day is on February 29, providing the shortest month of the year one extra day.
Why does leap year have 366 days?
The Earth's orbit is what causes leap days and years. The number of days it takes for the Earth to make one full revolution around the Sun is not a whole number. According to the National Air and Space Museum, the 365 days we experience are 365.242190.
Who started the concept of a leap year?
The concept of adding leap days is not new, having existed for millennia, according to Britannica. Some calendars, such as the Hebrew, Chinese, and Buddhist calendars, included leap months, also known as intercalary or interstitial months.
While Julius Caesar is frequently credited with inventing leap days, he borrowed the concept from the Egyptians. By the third century BCE, Egyptians used a solar calendar that lasted 365 days with a leap year every four years.
Interesting Facts
- Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, established the Leap Day concept for the Julian calendar in 45 BCE. However, it was adopted on February 24, rather than February 29. Furthermore, February was the final month of the Julian calendar.
- The Chinese have a practice in which a complete month is added to the calendar in certain regions. It occurred last year, in 2015.
- Historically, Leap Day was marked as a special day for role reversal. It was commemorated as the day when women may propose to men, rather than males expressing their feelings for them. However, when gender roles shifted, the tradition gradually faded.
- Babies born on Leap Day are known as leaplings or leap year babies. They usually celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1 in non-leap years.
- When considering the global population, the chances of being born on Leap Day are relatively high. There is a 1 in 1461 chance of a baby being born on February 29.
- There are two Leap Year capitals in the world: Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, New Mexico. On Leap Day, these places host lavish, multi-day celebrations.
ALSO READ: NHAI urges users to update FASTag KYC before February 29 to avoid deactivation; Here's how to do it
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