Thursday, January 3, 2008

Leap Year

Just realised 2008 is a leap year!

A leap year is a year with one extra day inserted into February. The leap year is 366days with 29 days in February as opposed to the normal 28 days.

In the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar used by most modern countries, the following rules decide which years are leap years:

1. Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year.
2. But every year divisible by 100 is NOT a leap year
3. Unless the year is also divisible by 400, then it is still a leap year.

This means that year 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years, while year 2000 and 2400 are leap years. This actually means year 2000 is kind of special, as it is the first time the third rule is used in many parts of the world.

Leap years are needed so that the calendar is in alignment with the earth's motion around the sun. Using a calendar with 365 days would result in an error of 0.2422 days or almost 6 hours per year. After 100 years, this calendar would be more than 24days ahead of the seasons (tropical year), which is not a desirable situation. It is desirable to align the calendar with the seasons, and make the difference as small as possible.

By adding leap years approximately every 4th year, this difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will follow the seasons much more closely than without leap years.

So should I be happy or sad that this year is a leap year?

I dont know!

Sad, because it means one extra day of the school year, where I will have to nag and cajole my kids to do their homework. One extra day of house work to do.

Happy, because I have one extra day to enjoy my kids and hubby. One extra day of life. After all, life is short. We should thank God for that one extra day!

Hey, every 29th of Feb should be declared a holiday, dont you agree?

11 comments:

iml said...

Truly the analytical mind of an accountant! On a positive note, it's one more day to revise before the CA1.

Hazel said...

it's quite complicated for this leap year..i dunno how to count it oh

Sasha Tan said...

I am happy for those that celebrate bday only once every 4 years

stay-at-home mum said...

Hi iml
My son does not have CA1 and my daughter's starts on 14 feb!!!

Hi Hazel
Its really not all that complicated. Just follow the 3 rules, and you will be fine

Sasha
Wish my birthday was on 29 feb, then I would only be 11 years old, having had only 4 feb 29 birthdays. Dont you think?

nyonyapenang said...

Instead of getting gaji for 28 days work, leap years make it one extra day of work. :)

doc said...

i didn't understand it when i was a student & still don't - why aren't 1900 & 2100 leap years when they are divisible by 4? if 1896, 1904, 2096 & 2104 are leap years, why aren't 1900 & 2100??

bp said...

I know a friend's husband whose birthday is on the 29th Feb, and I think for them, it's extra special, because he has to wait longer, for his day to come around to celebrate it!

just me said...

A blessed 2008 to you!

Unknown said...

we should be bless to live an extra day..hope you could enjoy that day.:)

Chen said...

and i have friend whose birthday falls on 29th February. So he only gets to celebrate his birthday once in 4 years ;)

TulipGirl said...

Wow! I didn't realize this was a leap year until you mentioned it. . .