A “Leap” Day is an extra day on February 29 which is added nearly every 4
years to today’s Gregorian calendar.
A “leapling” is a person born in a leap year
A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, but century
years are not leap years unless they are divisible by 400.
So, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but the year
2000 was.
Non-leap years begin and end on the same day of the week.
Leap Year Dates
2012 Wednesday,
February 29
2016 Monday,
February 29
2020 Saturday,
February 29
2024 Thursday,
February 29
Why Do We Need Leap Years?
Ages ago, Leap Day was known as Ladies’ Day, as it was
the one day when women were free to propose to men.
Many feel that to be born on Leap Day, thereby becoming a
“leapling,” is a sign of good luck.
In some cultures, it is considered bad luck to get
married during a leap year.
We don’t know of any evidence supporting that marriage
theory, but we do know that during leap years:
- Rome burned (64),
- George Armstrong Custer fought the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876),
- and the Titanic sank (1912).
By the same token, also in leap years:
- the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620),
- Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity (1752),
- and gold was discovered in California (1848).
The above information was taken from The Old Farmer's Almanac:
