Leap Day is every fours years….almost. It’s every four years except years ending with “00” that are not divisible by 400. The year in which Leap Day occurs, is called a Leap Year.

Why the fancy calculation? The earth rotates around the sun once every 365 and about 1/4 days. So, by adding an extra day every four years, we get mighty close to keeping the calendar consistent with the earth’s annual trip around the sun. And to be very precise, the earth orbits the sun every 365.242190 days. So, on years ending in “00”, (except those not divisible by 400) we skip Leap Year and Leap Day. With all that fancy calculating out of the way, let’s just celebrate the day.

Did you know? There are occasional “Leap Seconds”. We will spare you the detail on those, except to say it helps to correct minor variations. On December 31, 2015, the folks who maintain the official time for the planet, will add an extra second to the day!

If your birthday is on Leap  Day, congratulations, you finally get to celebrate your birthday on your birth date. Just how many of us are celebrating our Birthday on Leap Day? Only about one in 1461 people. If you were born on this day, consider yourself very, very special.  

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