Have you ever wondered why we have an extra day in February every four years? Well, I’ll tell you. Leap years happen when we add one day to the end of February to align our calendar with the Earth’s orbit. Once every four years, we tack a 29th day onto the end of February, which is usually 28 days long, making a leap year 366 days instead of 365. Julius Caesar decided to add an extra day to the end of February, given the Caesar Calendar (which isn’t the one that’s typically used). However, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII adopted the Gregorian calendar, (this one is the one that’s typically used), and specified that all years that can be divided by four are leap years, except for century years, which would have to be divisible by 400 to be considered leap years. So while 2000 was a leap year, 2100 and 2200 will not be. About 5 million people are born on leap day. They can choose whether they celebrate their birthday on February 28th or March 1st.
I hope that helped you understand more about leap years.
