You may ask yourself, “What’s the deal about Leap Year?” For those of you that know little about this subject, a leap year is a year with an extra day in it. So instead of having only 28 days in February, there’s 29. Leap years occur once every four years. The last one took place in 2008 and the next one will be in 2012. The reason behind this is so that the calendar year will be synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.
Why An Extra Day?
The Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, divides its years evenly by 4. These years are considered leap years. Adding this extra day to the calendar every four years makes up for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost 6 hours.
Being Born on a Leap Year
If a person is born on a leap year, they may be called a “leaper” or a “leapling.” The way that local laws count time intervals can determine when this individual has their legal birthday. March 1st is often considered the birthday in a non-leap year because it follows February 28th.
Events That Fall on a Leap Year
Here are some events that are held every four years during leap years:
Famous People Born on Leap Year
These famous people were born on a leap year: