“So when do you celebrate?”
That’s the most common question I get being a Leap Day baby. February 28th is the answer. Some people close to me will say happy birthday on the 28th and March 1st, so instead of having no birthday, I have two.
“So how old are you really?”
Another common question. It’s funny to me that people think they magically turn the next year older simply because their birth date has come around again.
I’m 52. Not 13. If you were able to see me, you would have no doubt that I am 52 and not 13. But some people will insist that since I’ve only had 13 birthdays that I’m only 13 years old.
I have to remind them —and it takes some doing, believe me— that one’s birthday is a finish line. It shows when one has traveled around the sun one more time, otherwise known as a year. So that trip adds a year to your age. We all have one of 366 finish lines. We are always traveling toward another trip around the sun. We can be a quarter of the way there, half the way there, or 127/365.25 of the way there.
I make that same trip, it’s just that my finish line is missing three out of four times.
So I’m 52 years old, but I’ve only had 13 birthdays. Got it?
“You must hate being a Leap Year baby.”
Nope. I rather enjoy it. It’s a great conversation starter. I don’t mind answering the questions above, having the conversation about traveling around the sun, or even letting people know that Leap Year doesn’t always come around every four years.
It’s true. Here are the rules:
- If the year is divisible by 4, it is a Leap Year.
- However, if the year is divisible by 100, it is not a Leap Year.
- Unless the year is divisible by 400, then it is a Leap Year.
Therefore, in 1800 and 1900, there was not a Leap Year, no February 29th because those years are divisible by 100. But in 2000, since 2000 is divisible by 400, there was a February 29th so I had my seventh birthday when I turned 28.
Make sense?
Why those special rules? Because it doesn’t take Earth exactly 365.25 days to make it around the sun. It’s a little less than that. So every 100 and 400 years we need to make slight adjustments to keep the year from shifting too far one way.
For more about the math of Leap Year, CLICK HERE.
What do you think? Would it be cool to have my birthday? Or do you have my birthday? Comment below to start the conversation.