Life has a plethora of underappreciated aspects, such as looking at the clock in the middle of the night and realizing that there are still a few hours left until the alarm goes off, or seeing one’s breath on icy cold days, or right-out-of-the-dryer blankets. In addition, many holidays pass by without appreciation such as Flag Day (June 14), Leif Erikson Day (Oct. 9) and Leap Day, which is on Feb. 29.
Leap Day occurs every four years on Feb. 29 when a calendar year is designated as a “leap year.” According to National Geographic, the Earth orbits the sun every 365.242 days. Because of this odd number, extra days have been added to the calendar since ancient times.
Early calendars in Rome were previously based on lunar months, but a year consisting of lunar months only totals about 354 days. Eqypt decided to adopt a leap year system, which added an extra day every four years. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced a single 445-day long year to correct the drift from previous years. This began the Julian calendar, which incorporated a 365-day year with a leap year every four years.
However, 365.25 (the .25 being Leap Day), was slightly longer than the Earth’s 365.242-day orbit. After 1,628 years, the calendar was about ten days off, so Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, the modern-day civil calendar. This calendar made a slight adjustment, adding the restriction that only one out of every four “century years” would be considered a leap year. Therefore, while the years 2000 and the 2400 are leap years, the years 2100, 2200, and 2300 are not, so those calendar years will not include a Leap Day.
Nevertheless, 2012 does include a Leap Day, so this rare occasion should be acknowledged and celebrated. Towns in the United Kingdom know how to commemorate Leap Day—Cornwall News reports that West Britain readers can obtain a free parking voucher from the newspaper to use in town on Leap Day. Also, the Press Association also reports that more than 5,000 employees of The National Trust will be allowed to take off of work on Leap Day if they agree to volunteer in their local community.
Some possible Leap Day celebratory activities include the following: play the childhood game “leap frog” with some friends; say everything four times; say everything four times; say everything four times; say everything four times; take a trip to Anthony, Texas, the Leap Year Capital of the World, and attend one of their Leap Day festivals; sing “Happy Birthday” to rapper Ja Rule, who was born on Leap Day in 1976; watch the 2010 movie “Leap Year,” starring Amy Adams; or bake Leap Day-themed treats.
Carol Fritz is a third-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at CF716022@wcupa.edu.