Sassy Cassie's Guide 2 the World: HAPPY LEAP DAY!!!

Julius Caesar was the father of leap year, originating the idea in 45 B.C. Ancient Egyptians created the basis for the modern-day calendar. But by Julius Caesar's time, it had slipped out of sync with Earth's seasons. So although it was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made calendar year didn't always match up. That's because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact. The Romans first designated February 29 as leap day, but a more precise formula (still in use today) was adopted in the 16th century when the Gregorian calendar fine-tuned the calculations to include a leap day in years only divisible by four - 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, etc. Thankfully, all this intricate plotting will continue to keep us in tune with the seasons over the next several thousand years. If we didn't add a day on Feb. 29 every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year, and after 100 years our calendar would be off by 24 days.

According to astrologers, those born under the sign of Pisces on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities reflecting their special status. Most have to wait every four years to "officially" observe their birthdays, but leap year babies typically choose either February 28 or March 1 to celebrate in years that aren't leap years.

While leap day helped official timekeepers, it also resulted in social customs turned upside down when February 29 became a "no man's land" without legal jurisdiction. As the story goes, the tradition of women romantically pursuing men in leap years began in 5th century Ireland, when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about the fair sex having to wait for men to propose. Patrick finally relented and set February 29 aside as the day set aside allowing women the right to ask for a man's hand in marriage. The tradition continued in Scotland, when Queen Margaret declared in 1288 that on February 29 a woman had the right to pop the question to any man she fancied. Men folk who refused were faced with a fine in the form of a kiss, a silk dress, or a pair of gloves given to the rejected lady fair. A similar modern American tradition, Sadie Hawkins Day, honors "the homeliest gal in the hills" created by Al Capp in the cartoon strip Li'l Abner.

Some other Leap year facts…

© Centuries ago there was a whimsical tradition that during leap years women had opportunity to propose marriage to men instead of the more traditional way. It followed the idea that nature had gone awry.

© Anthony, Texas, is the self-proclaimed Leap Year Capital of the World. In 1988, the chamber of commerce in the little town on the border between New Mexico and Texas voted to sponsor the Worldwide Leap Year Festival and Worldwide Leap Year Birthday Club.

© There were five Fridays in February 2008 -- the month begins and ends on a Friday. Between 1904 and 2096, leap day occurs on the same day of the week every 28 years, so the last time February had five Fridays was in 1980 and next time will be in 2036.

© Norway's Henriksen siblings are recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The three siblings were born on three consecutive leap days. Heidi Henriksen, 1960; Olav Henriksen, 1964; and Leif-Martin Henriksen, 1968.

© The Keogh family has three consecutive generations born on Feb. 29. Peter Anthony was born in Ireland in 1940; his son Peter Eric was born in the United Kingdom in 1964; and his granddaughter Bethany Wealth was born in the United Kingdom in 1996.

A leap year poem to remember it by

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Save February, she alone
Hath eight days and a score
Til leap year gives her one day more.

SO I HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED MY LITTLE POST

I HOPE YOUR LEAPPING INTO A WONDERFUL DAY ;?