Leap Day 2020

Many people know that leap years exist but may not know the statistics around it or why. So, why is 2020 a leap year? This year happens to follow the rules of leap years, in which I explain later. According to almanac.com, leap years keep our calendars accurate. It basically adds one extra day, February 29, to our calendar almost every four years.

More specifically, adding an extra day every four years keeps our calendar aligned correctly with the astronomical seasons. Since a year according to the Gregorian calendar (first adopted in 1532) is 365 days, and a year according to Earth’s orbit around the sun is 365.25 days, are not the exact same amount of time. Our calendar and the seasons would gradually get out of sync, without adding this extra day.

Generally, a leap year occurs every four years which is easy to keep track of, although there are a few rules of leap years. A year may be a leap year if it’s divisible by 4. Years that are divisible by 100, for example century years, cannot be leap years unless they are divisible by 400. For this reason, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years but 1600 and 2000 were. As I said, the year 2020 does follow these rules making it a leap year.

People born on leap day, usually celebrate their birthday either February 28 or March 1. They are known as leapers, leapings, or leapsters. However, many countries have laws defining which date a person born on February 29 comes to age in legal terms. Another fact is that according to an old Irish legend, women are allowed to propose to men. Also, in some places it is known as “bachelors’ day” for the same reason. Now you have it, why we have leap year along with some interesting facts about it.

Jenni