A Very Merry Unbirthday to You

As February draws to a close each year, I always check the calendar to see if it's a Leap Year. Somehow the last few lines of the rhyme for remembering the number of days in each month doesn't really give a good rule of thumb for figuring out leap years. As a child, the last line or two always seemed a bit sketchy as there was, to use another old phrase, no rhyme or reason to them.

In fact, here are two "official" versions of the poem:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November:
All the rest have thirty-one,
Except for February,
Which hath twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

Or

"Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November,
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone,
Which has but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

No wonder I'm fuzzy about leap year. Who could remember those last two stanzas? And it still doesn't say it has to be a year that is divisible by four...

Julius Caesar or rather Sosigenes, his astronomer, invented leap year in 45 BC. At that time the Roman Calendar had 355 days. So in order to keep the seasons and festivals even with the calendar, a 22nd or 23rd day was added every second year. Eventually, Pope Julian refined the calendar making leap day occur in years that are divisible by four. And Leap Day, is just a day to "leap" over.

So, for all of you "leaplings" who will have to celebrate on either February 28th or March 1st, here's a little ditty to help you celebrate.

Check back in 2012, when I get to recount how Leaplings celebrate their actual birthday.

by Karen Sutter

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