February 28, 2024
Updated 3 hours ago
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Leap year 2024: what is it and why does it happen?
2024 is very special because it is the so-called Leap year.
This means that the month of February has an extra day, 29 instead of the usual 28.
Leap years only occur every four years. It all has to do with the time it takes for planet Earth to orbit the sun.
Why do we have leap years?
Image source: Getty Images
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It takes just over a year for the Earth to completely orbit the Sun
According to the calendar, a typical year has 365 days, and this depends on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the sun once.
However, it actually takes Earth a little longer – about 365 days and a quarter – to complete a full orbit. The quarter is equivalent to six additional hours.
This means that every four years an additional 24 hours are added, which are counted as an additional day in the calendar. Here we get the date, February 29th.
Any year that can be divided by four without rounding up or down is a leap year.
What happens to people born on February 29th?
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People born on February 29th tend to celebrate their birthday a little differently than people born on other dates.
They are often referred to as springlings because their official birthday only occurs every four years.
Many springlings celebrate their birthday on either February 28th or March 1st.
Being a Springling is unique because only a small percentage of people in the world were born on February 29th.
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