Bikinis in Winter & Other Reasons to Have a Leap Year

Bikinis in Winter & Other Reasons to Have a Leap Year

Today is February 29, a day that only comes around every four years. Why do we have a leap year? We're answering that and other leap day questions in today's Five Things:

1. Why do we have leap years? The Earth doesn't circle the sun in exactly 365 days (it actually takes 365.2425 days). Those leftover hours add up to nearly one full day every four years. If we didn't have February 29 every four years, our seasons would eventually fall completely out of wack and people would be wearing bathing suits around Thanksgiving.

2. Who decided to have a leap year? We can thank Julius Caesar for that, at least the original idea. The Roman ruler is believed to have added the leap day around 46 B.C. The problem however, was that the Julian calendar was adding too many days and by the 1500s, Easter began to slip back into winter. Pope Gregory XIII corrected the system in 1582, with the first leap day under the new calendar two years later. We follow the Gregorian calendar today.

3. True or False? There is a leap day every four years: False. Under the Gregorian calendar, every year that is evenly divided by four is a leap year, except for turn-of-the-century ones ending with an "00" such as 1900 or 2100, that aren't divisible by 400. Without the exception, the seasons would slip out of sync by about eight days every 1,000 years.

4. How many people have a birthday on February 29? There are about 5 million people in the world who have a leap day birthday, according to the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies. Those born on a leap day typically celebrate on February 28. As if only being able to celebrate one's true birthday only once every four years wasn't unfortunate enough, big chain stores and computer programs add insult to injury by not recognizing its "leaper" customers. When a person inputs February 29 as his or her  birthday on a website's list, error messages are often received. Due to the issue, the society has placed complaints with Microsoft and toy store chains that deny children born on Leap Day a birthday wish, in three years out of four. 

5. Are there any leap year day traditions? At one time it was customary to give Forget-me-not flowers to anyone starting on a journey on February 29. Later they were exchanged among friends on that day. According to the book, "Simples, Superstitions & Solace - Plant Material Used in Colonial Living," the colonists grew the flowers for their delightful spring bloom and is a symbol of faithfulness.