Interesting facts about the “leap year” – February 29th – not a day like any other
Image: imago images/Bihlmayerfotografie
Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus, Uli Hoeneß: February 29th has a special meaning for all of them. Why does this date even exist and how many people in the region have their birthday today?
Tens of thousands of people all over Germany can finally throw a big party on their actual birthday – and not on the alternative date of February 28th or March 1st. When “leap day children” have to have a birthday by law, what happened historically on this day – and why does this day even have to exist? Here are the answers:
Why the “leap year” is called that – and why it is important
It takes the Earth 365.24 days to orbit the sun. That’s almost a quarter of a day more than a normal calendar year. To compensate for this, an additional day is added every four years on February 29th, which explains the term “leap year”.
However, since 0.24 days times 4 does not correspond exactly to a whole day, there is an exception to the “four-year rule” at the turn of the century. Leap years are years that can be divided by 4, but not by 100 – unless they are also divisible by 400. Accordingly, although 1900 was not a leap year, 2000 was.
Gaius Julius Caesar was the first to add a day. Image: imago images/Gemini Collection
When the “leap year” was invented
Astronomers before the birth of Christ were able to calculate that the Earth needs a little more than 365 days to orbit the sun. The Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar therefore led in 45 BC. BC introduced the ancient Roman calendar, which provided for a leap day every four years. However, due to a small calculation error, Caesar’s calendar was 11 minutes and 14 seconds too fast per year. By the 16th century, the calendar had therefore shifted by ten days.
It was only over 1,600 years later, namely in 1582, that Pope Gregory 13 made improvements and this year deleted ten October days that had accumulated due to Julius Caesar’s “Julian calendar”.
He also introduced the leap year rule described above: that leap years are only years that can be divided by 4, but not by 100. As a result, his “Gregorian calendar” with its average year length of 365.2425 days came to 365.2422 Days of the solar year are closer than the 365.25 days of the Julian calendar.
Model Lena Gercke is celebrating her 9th and 36th birthdays this February 29th. Image: imago images/Eventpress
Special birthday children
Around 4.8 million people worldwide were born on February 29th. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 55,000 Germans have their birthday on February 29th. According to the State Statistical Office, there are 2,383 in Berlin (as of December 31, 2023). In Brandenburg, a total of 325 people were born on February 29th since 1992 (Note: The population register was included for the Berlin figures. Since there is no such register for Brandenburg according to the State Office for Statistics, only the figures since 1992 are taken into account here).
These celebrities have birthdays on February 29th
The prominent birthday children include model Lena Gercke, footballer Benedikt Höwedes and entrepreneur Dana Schweiger. And pop singers Andreas Schenker from Boblitz in the Spreewald. The former singer of the GDR band “Berluc” celebrates his 16th birthday on Thursday – although he is already 64.
Birthday party by law
In their lifespan, which is expected to be around 80 years long, the “leap day children” born on February 29th – strictly speaking – only have a birthday every four years: they will be able to celebrate around 20 times on this date. In the years in between, you can switch to February 28th or March 1st. But they don’t officially become one year older until March 1st – this is legally stipulated in Section 188 of the Civil Code (BGB).
Stranded in Jamaica on February 29th: Christopher Columbus. In this picture he is seen arriving on the island of San Salvador. Image: imago images/H.Tschanz-Hoffmann
Frosty Pawn Rule
There is a farmer’s rule that revolves around the leap year: “Leap year equals cold year.” However, meteorologists cannot confirm this as generally true, and so far this year there is no indication of this. At least February in Berlin and Brandenburg was extremely spring-like and mild. And this February 29th doesn’t exactly promise to be wintery cold either, with temperatures of up to 12 degrees in Berlin and Brandenburg.
February 29: These events happened on this day
On February 29, 1504, the sailor Christopher Columbus was stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage of discovery.
In 1712, Sweden had February 30th after February 29th due to a calendar change.
On February 29, 1880, after seven years and five months of construction, the tunnel was able to break through the Swiss Gotthard massif. At 15 kilometers, the longest tunnel in the world at the time was created.
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On February 29, 1916, the civil engineer Arthur Hale was granted a patent in the USA for the cloverleaf highway interchange he had developed.
Uli Hoeneß was released on February 29, 2016 after 637 days in prison for tax evasion.
Won the Oscar in 1940 for her supporting role in “Gone with the Wind”: Hattie McDaniel – alongside the leading actress Vivian Leigh. Image: imago images/Ronald Grant
Oscar Awards:
The Oscars traditionally take place in the second half of February – and only twice on February 29th: in 1940 and 2004.
In 1940, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in Gone With the Wind. Screenwriter Sidney Howard was also the first posthumous Oscar winner. In 2004, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” was the highest grossing film.
Speaking of film: The Berlinale can also boast a February 29th date: the Berlin Film Festival ended on that date in 1980.