Leap Day: What is it?

     Leap Year, It happens every four years and we sort of skip over it, leap over it if you will. We don’t understand the significance of the day. Some don’t even realize that it coincides with election day. That’s right, in case you missed it, we have 366 days this year which means one extra day to listen to people bicker about politics. Or, an extra day to be happy you’re alive, a day that you can use to relax, catch up, just chill, or do something you’ve never done before. 

     You may be thinking, where do we get this day from? Did it spawn out of the Earth’s buttcrack or…

     Leap year was created and February was given an extra day every four years to keep our calendars in sync with the Earth’s orbit. More specifically, the Earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun and to make up for the collective .25 days every year, we just give it to February so it’s not so short and left out, creating a leap day. If we didn’t add the extra day every four years, eventually, June, July and August would no longer be our summer months, it would shift to December, and us Californians really would have no hope of ever seeing a white Christmas. 

     A leap year with its leaping day affects more than our seasons, it shifts the days. Each year your birthday will be on the next day of the week, but a leap year causes the day of week your birthday is on to…you guessed it, leap. It also creates a bit of confusion for those born on leap day, February 29th. Since it only occurs once every four years, those born the 29th celebrate their birthday on the 28th or March 1st instead. Therefore, a leapling or leaper could have been born February 29th, 2000, lived through 24 years, and technically be turning six this year. Weird, I know. 

     While leap years and their leap days do cause a little confusion, there are many superstitions, random rules, and facts that apply, if you so choose. 

They are:

-women can propose to men on leap day

-leap day is not a legal day(must choose February 28th or March 1st as your birthday)

-most employees work for free because their wages don’t calculate the extra day

-Texas and New Mexico go big on this day(they’re the leap year capital)

-leap year is considered bad luck so couples don’t get married as often

-leap year is a bad year for sheep 

     So, ladies, propose to your man this year in New Mexico, but don’t marry him until the next and don’t plan on receiving a sheep as an engagement present.