Today is a special Thursday. Why? you ask, well, as we all know 2024 is a leap year and today is that extra day on the calendar that makes the year a leap year. A day like today is quite rare as it only comes every 4 years.
Considering the fact that a day like today only comes once in four years, people have chosen to celebrate today in various ways, businesses are giving discounts on goods and some people are taking the day off to have fun activities with friends and family as this day will only come next in 2028. Also, people born on a leap day who will normally celebrate their birthdays on 28th of February or the 1st of March will get to celebrate on their actual birthday.
For some of us we do not really give a special meaning to leap days but before we go into details about what makes a leap day special, let us take a look at the definition of a leap day.
What is a Leap Day?
A leap day is an extra day that gets added to the calendar every four years, and when this addition occurs, it is usually added to the shortest month of the year -February, giving it 29 days instead of the usual 28 days. The reason why a leap year happens every four years is because of the calculation obtained from the earth’s orbit around the sun which according to the National Air and Space Museum usually takes about 365.242190 days.
This remaining .242190 days when added up is equivalent to a full day, hence the addition to the days of the month of February of every year that is divisible by 4. One might wonder why bother with the .242190 instead of just focusing on the full 365 days. Well it is important to add up this remaining fraction because it helps with the balancing of each expected season yearly. If left off there will be a shift in each season yearly, leading to imbalance.
For those born on a leap day,they are called Leaplings and they have the rarest birthday in the world. According to statistics, there are about 5 million people out of the world population who celebrate their birthday on leap day.
How to Make the Most Out Of This Year’s Leap Day
Since a leap year is a once in four years occurrence, there is no crime in making it a special day and enjoying it to the fullest. You can choose today to celebrate or plan a memorable or sentimental event in your life,that way you get to celebrate those special moments every 4 years. Nothing gets more special than that. You can also start a wild and fun tradition that you get to revisit every 4 years amongst your family and friends.
And if you are a leapling, well this is your day! Go wild and fun; while being safe as well. Ensure you enjoy your day to the fullest as you will only get to celebrate your birthday on your actual birth date in the next four years.
