February 29 occurs once every four years and this is what we call Leap Year. A Leap Year contains one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year. In other words, this extra day keeps our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolution around the sun.
The Egyptians were the first to come up with the brilliant idea of adding a leap day and later, the Romans adopted this solution for their calendar and were first to designate this practice. With the additional day in February, the year lasts 366 days instead of the typical 365. Without the 29 of February every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year.
What are the chances of someone being born on February 29? The odds are about 1 in 1,500 and there are approximately 187,000 people in the US and four million people in the world born on this day. Most Leap Day birthdays are celebrated on March 1 when it falls within the three years that the leap day doesn’t exist; however they may also choose to celebrate on the 28.
LC 2016-082