Leap Year 2024: Why Does February Have A Bonus Day?
Have you ever thought about the science behind a leap year? Let's understand why does February get an extra day after every four years.
- Lifestyle News
- 2 min read
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A Leap year is when the month of February has an extra day. 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. Have you ever thought about the science behind a leap year? Why does this one month get an extra day after every four years? Let’s find out.
Understanding leap year: Why does February have a bonus day?
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 NASA. Those extra hours, minutes and seconds beyond day 365 make for the extra time that is added to a leap year.
If an extra day was not occasionally added to a year, seasons would begin to move forward. Also, in several hundred years, a North American winter would happen during what is currently the summer season.
Facts about leap year
There are many facts associated with a leap year. Let’s find out.
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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.