HAPPY LEAP YEAR LOVELIES!
So I was sitting with my friends today, “aw”-ing over the ADORABLE Google Doodle, and talking about what crazy things we were planning on doing today. It got me thinking, what is a Leap Day anyway and where does it come from?
According to infoplease.com, a Leap Day is added to the calendar every 4 years on February 29th, in order to keep the Gregorian Calendar, the one that we use, synced up with the solar year, which is the amount of time the Earth takes to revolve around the sun (365 ¼ days!). There are about 4 million people in the world who were born on February 29th which is about a 1 in 1500 chance.
There are some super fun traditions that have come from this day! In Ireland, it is believed that on a Leap Day, St. Brigid convinced St. Patrick that women should be allowed to propose to men on a Leap Day (think: Leap Year movie with Amy Adams!). Also, if a man refused the proposal, he had to buy her twelve pairs of gloves. In Scotland and Greece, it is considered very unlucky for someone to be born on a Leap Day. But don’t worry, leap year babies, there is also an honor’s society for people born on February 29th!
Also, super fun fact: The summer Olympics are always held on a Leap Year (this year’s is in Rio)! This might totally be a fluke, but you can still impress your friends with this fun fact!
So, there you go, a short guide to the day that comes every 4 years. A big happy birthday goes out to all you Leap Year babies!
Oh, and if you’re wondering what I’ll be doing with my special extra day….I’ll be using it to study!