2024 Leap Year By Addison Caddell

2024 marks a very special year for many people, some may be celebrating their birthday for the first time in four years. If you were born on a leap year that means that you were born on a very special date that only occurs once every four calendar years. For example, for people born on February 29, 1999, you would be celebrating your 6th birthday this year even though you are 24 years old.

This crazy phenomenon happens when it takes Earth over 365 days to orbit the sun. Or to be more precise when it takes 365.2466 days to orbit the sun, we have a leap year. It is a concept of rounding that saves our Calander from being thrown off more and more every year.

If everyone decided to do away with the leap year or ignore it the consequences would be a lot more than you might think, by the 2400’s January would be June and June would be January. This means Texas summers would take place in January. Confusing right?

To simplify, adding an extra day every four years makes up for the extra time it takes for the earth to rotate around the sun. This, in turn, keeps our rotation in line with our seasons and puts us “back on track” with our calendar.

Leap years may be a confusing idea, but it can be a fun day all around the world. Since this is a recurring phenomenon of course there is a plethora of traditions to go along with this day. For example, in the U.K. women propose to men on Leap Day, in Germany, men tie ribbons on the trees outside of their partner’s home to display their love.

So, if you have a friend or family member who is born on a leap year, make sure to wish them a happy birthday—they do not get to celebrate their actual day very often!