Opinion: Leap year little understood (2024)

By: Brooklyn StittPosted: 3:00 AM CST Monday, Feb. 26, 2024

Already have an account? Log in here »

Already have an account? Log in here »

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/02/2024 (203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This year, like every four years, the rarest day in the whole calendar is upon us, Feb. 29 or more commonly known as leap day. leap day always seems to pass by without us giving the slightest thought as to what sort of importance it has. Here is an understanding of the history behind leap day, why it was created, and some pros and cons to the whole idea of it.

So, what is a leap year? A leap year is something that occurs every four years — it’s essentially when our calendars add an additional day to February, the shortest month of the year. Instead of the year having 365 days, the leap year will have 366 days. The saying “leap year” comes from the fact that a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar (the most used calendar around the world) will advance one day in the week each year, but in the occurrence of a leap year, that same date will advance two days instead of just one therefore skipping or “leaping” over one day of the week. For instance, last year (2023) Valentines Day happened on a Tuesday. This year (2024) Valentines Day was on a Wednesday, but, in the year 2025, Valentines Day will be on a Friday, thus, leaping over Thursday entirely.

So what is the true importance of a leap year? The true purpose of the leap year is so that the seasons don’t drift. That is, if we didn’t count leap years, over the course of time, summer would begin to occur in December and all the seasons would be out of place. This would happen because there are 365 days in a year, but it takes the Earth approximately 365.242190 days to orbit the sun. This is called a “sidereal year” and it’s only the slightest bit longer than the average year, and that extra time must exist somewhere! By adding an extra day every four years it keeps the seasons’ timing in check. Although, here’s where it gets confusing, the difference between the calendar year and the sidereal year isn’t quite 24 hours, but a close 23.26222 hours. These added 44 minutes will also cause our season to drift, and this makes it so that every four years isn’t a leap year. The rule is that if the year number is divisible by four it’ll be a leap year, but if it’s divisible by 100 and not 400 then leap year is skipped. For example, the year 2000 was a leap year but not the year 1900.

In 45 B.C. the leap year was instituted by Julias Caeser (a great Roman general and statesman) who also created the Julian Calendar, which is a solar calendar consisting of three 365-day years and one leap year on every 4th year without exception. This is different to the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and is the most used calendar amongst people nowadays. It has many similarities with the Julian calendar, such as the month names and the number of months. The one significant difference is that leap year only occurs on years divisible by four or 400. This means that the Julian calendar has had more leap years than the Gregorian calendar.

Many different cultures throughout history have tried to invent calendars of their own, many being close to the Earth’s orbiting cycle, but none quite mastered it. For example, about 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians made a calendar of their own which consisted of 12 months each with 30 days, making their year 360 days (5 days shorter than our typical year). The Egyptians would then adopt this calendar cycle and add 5 days of parties at the end of their year. In earlier history, around 3100 B.C. the ancient Egyptians used lunar calendars, meaning they tracked months by how long it would take for the moon to orbit the Earth, yet these cycles however are shorter than the average year. So, you see, there was a lot of trial and error in the creation of the modern calendar, and there are still places like Saudia Arabia and Syria that use lunar calendars in their everyday lives.

With leap year come some unexpected bumps in the road, and one of the most common ones is: Are you really working for free on leap day? Why are workers not paid on leap day? In an article from the National Post, Professor Rafael Gomez states that jobs that pay a yearly salary are preferable to jobs that pay an hourly wage. Although, while a salary job is more desirable, workers who are paid hourly will most definitely be getting paid for the extra day in February and for people with a salary, things can get a little confusing. In the same article, Brenda Spotton Visano, an economics professor, says that it is logical to conclude that annual salaries are adjusted to include an extra day in a leap year. However, if salaries are not adjusted to include the extra day, “[T]hat is an unpaid workday by definition.” It may seem unfair, but technically, there is no law saying that salaried workers must be paid for that extra day.

Now, what happens if you were born on leap day? Does it mean you age slower? Are you born with supernatural talents? These things are only myths associated with people born on Feb. 29, but what really does happen if you’re born on a leap day? It doesn’t mean you age slower than anyone else, but you only celebrate your birthday every four years, meaning that you could be four years old and still a senior in high school! Approximately four million people (about twice the population of New Mexico) from the Earth’s population are leap babies. With leap year comes many confusing things such as subscription dates and license renewing, and when you can legally have your first beer. From my understanding, if you subscribed to something on leap day your subscription would end one day shorter than when you started it. The same goes for licenses and celebrating birthdays, as it really depends whether you decide to celebrate or renew on Feb. 28 or March first. It would be rather confusing.

The origin of the leap year is a rather interesting concept, taking many years and constant failure before we have finally found what we understand to be the most logical way to measure the Earth orbiting the Sun. It’s strange to think that this upcoming leap day humans will be born on such a rare day, making them rare as well. Being born on such a day would come with many confusing conditions, but at least there’s the benefit of aging slower than the rest of us! Happy leap day everyone!

» Brooklyn Stitt is a Grade 9 Student at École secondaire Neelin High School

Report ErrorSubmit a Tip