Interesting Facts About Leap Year That You Must Know

A leap day occurs in a leap year, which is a year with an inserted period of time. The year 2024 is a leap year. Meaning, the month of February will have 29 days instead of 28. Around the globe, people commemorate it with different rituals. Also, the leap year is associated with some very interesting facts. 

Let’s delve into these facts and know some interesting things about the Leap year.

All about the days 

It takes the Earth about 365.242189 days or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds — to circle once around the sun, reports Time and Date. However, the Gregorian calendar that we rely on only has 356 days. Therefore, if we don’t add an extra day to our shortest month about every four years, we will end up losing about six hours every year.

Julius Caesar was the creator 

Not many know but it was Julius Caesar who introduced the first leap year around 46 B.C. However, his Julian calendar had one rule: Any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year.

Soup drinking in Taiwan 

There’s a superstition in Taiwan which states that more senior citizens pass away during the leap year than any other year. Therefore, daughters prepare hearty pig trotter noodles for their parents around this time to promote good health. 

Leap year capital cities 

The twin cities of Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, New Mexico, are self-proclaimed Leap Year Capital of the World. These cities hold a four-day leap year festival that includes a birthday party for all the leap year babies.

Satire reading in France 

La Bougie du Sapeur which is a satirical newspaper launched in 1980 is published only on leap days. It can be bought at any other newsstand across countries like France, Luxembourg and Belgium. It includes jokes, puns and fun interviews. According to reports by Conde Nast Traveller, in 2020, La Bougie du Sapeur distributed about 2,00,000 copies.