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Ever wondered about the historical importance of having a February 29 every four years? Read on to learn something on this special day!
Each year, it takes the earth approximately 365 days to complete a full year. According to NASA, it takes the earth exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 56 seconds to complete a rotation. So how do we account for the extra time?
Welcome to Leap Day, a February 29 that occurs every four years. After today, the next one will be in 2028.
The easy way to remember the years that have a Leap Day: it’s the same years the Summer Olympics are held—except for when the pandemic moved the 2020 Tokyo Games to 2021. If you want to do math, then it’s this: if the year is not divisible by 4, then it is a common year. If the year is not divisible by 100, then it is a leap year, according to the Smithsonian.
Trying to ensure that our calendars and our natural year remained in sync with each other caused much confusion over the centuries, until the creation of a leap day helped make up for the lost time. However, even though making up for the lost time would typically occur every four years, adding a rule that allowed for skipping three leap years every 400 years, we can shorten the drift even further.
In 46 B.C., Rome adopted a 365.25 day-year to correct its calendar drifts. However, despite Julius Caesar’s efforts, some flaws were found in the Julian Calendar by the Catholic Church centuries later. For example, important holidays’ were found to be nearly 10 days off.
In 1582 A.D., Pope Gregory XIII ushered in the new Gregorian calendar, which is still used today, further improving on the Julian Calendar while helping the Catholic Church. It did this by taking out three leap years every 400 years, reducing the drift even more. To realign the calendar to the solar year, Pope Gregory declared Oct. 4, 1582 the last day of the Julian calendar. The next day would be the debut of the Gregorian calendar, on Oct. 15, skipping ten calendar days and righting the discrepancy.
Leap Day is also considered a special day for those born on it, who may be considered “Leap Day Babies,” or “Leapers”, according to the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, which started in 1988 as a way to connect Leapers together and bring awareness to the day. Some well known “Leapers” are actor Alex Rocco, actor Peter Scanavino, singer and producer Ja Rule, soccer forward Taylor Twellman, and rock singer Chris Conley.
Overall, the Gregorian Calendar produces an average year length of 365.2425 days, just half a minute longer than the solar year. At such a rate it will take 3,300 years before the Gregorian calendar moves even a day from our seasonal cycle. That means future generations will have a decision to make on leap year, though not for a long time, according to National Geographic.
