Next year is a leap year! But, what is a leap year? A leap year is the fourth year of a cycle (i.e. 2020, 2016, 2348, 1840, etc) in which an extra day (2/29) is added to compensate for the extra time all years naturally accrue (5 hours, 48 minutes & 45 seconds to be exact).
According to National Geographic, “trying to sync calendars with the length of the natural year caused confusion—until the concept of leap year provided a way to make up for lost time.”
Beyond keeping our calendars even, Leap Years come with a whole set of traditions & superstitions:
- Irish Folklore: women can propose to men
- The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies
- Scottish Folklore: being born on a leap day is bad luck
& If you are born on February 29th, what is considered your birthday during on non-leap year? The short answer is March 1st, but you can read the long answer here.
On a semi-unrelated note, please, enjoy these leaping inspired exercises & sports:
- Jump rope
- Hop scotch
- Basketball
- Parkour
- Gymnastics
- Box jumps
- Tumbling
- Cheerleading
- Ballet / dance
- Aerobics
- Acrobatics
Now you know the Legend of the Leap Year get excited for Next Year!