Once every four years, many people get what they ask for. More time.
How often do you find yourself in need of an extra few minutes, or a couple of hours, to finish work, meet family obligations, or wind down with some much-needed rest and relaxation?
The clock is always ticking, but here it is, finally, a bonus day. What are you going to do with it?
It may just seem like another day on the calendar, but leap day is extraordinary, just ask anyone who was born or married on February 29. Sure, they can celebrate on February 28 or March 1 three out of every four years, but there is nothing like the real thing.
Imagine if at 11:59 pm, and 59 seconds, you were anticipating your birthday, and one second later, it was over, or simply passed over for another year. There might be enough time to shot-gun a beer, or receive a peck on the lips from your mate to honour the occasion, but does the term “time flies” apply more specifically in any other case?
Apparently Superman was born on leap day in 1938 (the character, not an actor). No wonder he’s still “flying” around.
How many people even know why we have leap year? Aside from astronomers, astrophysicists and planetary scientists, many are unaware of the real reason for a leap year, but may have heard customs and traditions, including that if a woman proposes marriage to a man on February 29 and is refused, he needs to compensate her with some form of a gift or action. Anyone want to try that tomorrow? Just make sure you really need a silk dress or 12 pairs of gloves, apparently those are two of the options, or a kiss on the cheek from the recipient of a proposal who turns it down.
The solar year is 365.2422 days long, hence the need for an extra day every four years. Without them, over the course of decades or hundreds of years, months and seasons would be completely out of whack. Thank you, Julius Caesar, for preventing that from happening.
Happy birthday to those celebrating their actual birthday for the first time since 2016, and happy anniversary to those who chose leap day to get married; those who were born on February 29 had no say in the matter. Next year, go ahead and incorporate February 28 and March one into one lengthy celebration; you deserve it.
For everyone else, whatever celebration, task, obligation or otherwise awaits on Saturday, February 29, 2020, remember, it is an extra day. What else are you going to do?
