Are you ready? We are all getting an extra day this year. There is a long history. Some of it is true, some of it created out of the mist of history. No less an authority than The Farmer’s Almanac says a leap year is evenly divisible by four and century years that are divisible by one-hundred. Century years also have to be divisible by four hundred. 1900 didn’t make it. 2000 did. Enough math. How did this happen? A day is measured by how many days it takes the Earth to circle the sun. It’s a little more than the 365 days. It’s really 365.2421 days. The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar started leap year by adding an extra day every four years. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII made some tweaks to work in Christian holidays. So the Gregorian Calendar is the one we have today.
The day has taken its place in history. In the 5th Century, Ireland’s St. Brigid was upset that women couldn’t propose to men. She was way ahead of her time. St. Patrick, a big man in Ireland, said okay, women can propose to men one day every four years, February 29th. It became known as Bachelor’s Day. I couldn’t find any record of how satisfied St. Brigid and women of the time were with the one day rule.
It’s estimated that about five million people have birthdays on February 29th. There is a one in 1,461 chance you’ll be born on the big day. Some people you might know, Singer Dinah Shore, Rapper Ja Rule, Motivational Speaker Tony Robbins, Olympic Gold medal swimmer Cullen Jones, and actor Alex Rocco (Mo Green from “The Godfather” who got shot in the eye on the massage table), and my uncle.
Some history was made on February 29th:
The beginning of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Not a good thing.
President Teddy Roosevelt appoints a commission to complete the Panama Canal in 1904 after the French failed. A good thing.
”Gone with the Wind” wins eight Academy Awards in 1940. Open to a very different interpretation today.
”Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club” wins Best Album at the Grammys in 1968. Still great.
The question for us all is what are we going to do with this extra 24 hours? One of the things we like about February is that it’s the shortest month usually twenty-eight days. The weather can be awful. But it is only three weeks to spring. We set the clocks ahead just ten days later on March 10th. It marks the end of the two worst months on the year. It’s a time to say good riddance to winter, the end of darkness and the return to daylight.
As I mentioned earlier, my uncle was born on February 29th. He is a self made man. He dropped out of high school. Taught himself to read. Had long career on the railroad. He became an expert horseman. Boarded houses and taught people to ride. Married a wonderful woman and has three sons. He is the best story teller in my life. No one can make me laugh as he can. He dealt with difficult family issues at times as we all do. He will be ninety-two next week. I will call him and wish him a happy birthday. I don’t know how many more there will be. But I’m grateful he gets this extra day one more time.
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