A leap year occurs once every four years and has 366 days, including February 29. This year is a leap year. It feels a bit special.
A leap year has 366 days because adding a day to the year is a necessity to maintain the function of the Georgian calendar that we all follow around the world. This calendar oddity assumes that the earth takes 365 and a quarter days (365.242375) to complete one revolution around the sun. Those almost quarter days add up to approximately one extra day every four years, adding to February because it is the shortest month.
It does get tricky, though, because it’s not exactly a quarter day. To make up the difference, any year that can be exactly divided by 100 is not a leap year and any year that can be exactly divided by 400 is a leap year. With these adjustments, the calendar works out just fine.
Bachelor’s Day is an outdated Irish tradition that states that on leap day, women can propose to men.
In some ways, it seems like a gift to get an extra day. On the other hand, does that mean people have to work an extra day in 2024? It could be a bit of a payroll wrinkle. If you’re paid based on an annual salary, you will have to work and probably won’t see a difference in your paycheque. If you get paid by the hour, you will be paid for the extra hours if you work on February 29. This leap year, February 29, falls on a Thursday.
If you consider this extra day a gift and given the choice, what would you like to do with that extra day? If you could choose anything to do with just that one extra day, what would it be? Would you spend it with loved ones, do something outdoors, go shopping, sleep in or have a special meal?
People born on a leap day are called leaplings. If you’re a leapling, how and when do you celebrate your birthday?
It seems like a year full of promise and positive energy. Maybe I am just taking a leap of faith by saying that, but what the heck? A year is what you make it, right?
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