Witness Post: Leap Year
Every four years we add a leap year to oura calendar. The last leap year was in 2020; so this year we have one extra day on February 29, which we label as a Leap Day.
Question: since the occasion only comes around once every four years, what happens to people who were born on February 29? Do they miss out on birthdays three years out of four?
According to urban legend, most ‘leapers’ pick another date to make sure they have an annual birthday. Typically they pick February 28 making their age is younger than most of their peers. Others choose March 1st.
What is a leap year?
Leap years take place when there is an extra day in a year that is added at the end of February, meaning there are 366 days instead of the normal 365 days in a year.
Do you know what age you would be if you were born on a leap day? (Image: Getty)
Why do we need leap years?
The Earth takes 365.24 days to orbit the sun in the average year, however, due to that extra 0.24 of time, a leap year is added.
If a leap year was not added, it would mean the Gregorian calendar would start six hours before Earth officially completes its orbit.
This extra time would then make the Gregorian calendar out of sync with the seasons, moving around 24 calendar days within a century, which could eventually see Christmas fall in summer for the Northern Hemisphere.
Henry E. Hooper 