366 days in the year? 2020 is a Leap Year and for some, may be the first your child has lived through or is old enough to understand. But how do you explain this extra day that only happens every 4 years to your little one? Who better to help explain astronomy than Luna the moon?
What is a Leap Year?
A Leap Year is when an extra day is added to the calendar year. Rather than 365 days in the year, there are 366 days that specific year. This extra day is added to the month of February, so instead of 28 days there are 29.
Why do Leap Years happen?
A calendar year is calculated by the amount of time it takes for the Earth to completely go around (orbit) the sun. Technically it takes 365 ¼ days to do so—so every four years we add an extra day to the calendar year to make up for it.
History of the Leap Year
Presently the majority of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, but that hasn’t always been the case. Ancient people used to use the movement of the moon and observations in the sky to mark the passing of time. In 46BCE the then Roman emperor Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar. Most of the world followed this calendar until the 1800’s when our present day Gregorian Calendar was adopted. Today, some religions continue to use the Julian calendar to identify when holidays are observed.
Fun Fact: A leap year is always evenly divisible by four!
People who are born on the extra day in the leap year can choose to celebrate their birthday February 28 or March 1 of the years that aren’t leap years. Do you know someone born on February 29? Be sure to wish them a happy birthday on their actual birth date this year.
Until our next travel adventure…
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