It only happens once every four years.
No, we’re not talking about the Summer Olympics or the presidential elections, although both are on the same cycle as this calendric event. We’re talking about “Leap Day,” of course, February 29th, which occurs every fourth year during Leap Year.
First, I confess that I have an inside source for this story. My wife, Terri Hasseler, is a ‘leapling’ and has shared numerous anecdotes over the years. Among other things, I’ve learned that for those born on the 29th, every 4th year is extra special. To find out more, I reached out to a few others who share the rarest of birthdays.
A quick reminder of the science behind Leap Year. The Earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun annually. So every four years, we make up that extra time with a Leap Day. If we didn’t add this additional day, the seasons would start to shift over time, leading to all kinds of headaches too detailed to go into here. By the way, you can thank Julius Caesar for adopting the Leap Year system in 45 B.C.E., an approach he based on the Egyptian solar calendar.
With around five million leaplings in the world, your odds of being born on Leap Day are about 1 in 1,461, but even so, there are some notable celebrities who have defied the odds. They include singer/actor Dinah Shore, actor Dennis Farina, composer Gioachino Rossini, and rapper Ja Rule.
More trivia – on Leap Day, also known as Bachelor’s Day, there’s an Irish tradition where women initiate dances or propose marriage to men. In Scotland, it’s said that being born on a Leap Day will lead to a life of bad luck. You’re probably better off hanging around London’s Savoy Hotel, where in 1928, bartender Harry Craddock created a Leap Year cocktail that contains gin, sweet vermouth, Grand Marnier, and lemon juice. (Local bars, take note.)
And, in the tradition of Groundhog Day, you can plan a trip to Anthony, Texas, a town that celebrates a Quadrennial Leap Year Festival, with live music, craft vendors and kid’s activities. Really.
Heather Dailey, a Scituate, RI school teacher has had fewer actual birthdays than most of her high school students. On February 29, 1976, in a story covering the Leap Year babies, Dailey’s birth was featured on WJAR 10 news. (Look for local networks to do the same this week.)
“My family has always been very good about marking my birthday even when I don’t have an official birthday,” says Dailey. “But when I do have an official birthday everyone makes a slightly bigger deal out of it. I’ll get kid’s birthday cards that have my Leap Year age on them.” Like most leaplings, Dailey celebrates on the 28th, on “off” years, “because I was born on the last day of February and February has a better birthstone than March,” the purple quartz amethyst.
Dailey described occasional mix-ups at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. For example, she would have expiration dates on her driver’s license that simply didn’t exist. She also shared a story about an elderly woman she met who mentioned that her husband was born on February 29 early in the 20th century. Apparently at that time, “they told his mother, you have to pick one day – February 28 or March 1, because ‘we don’t allow that birthdate.’”
Katelyn Buzzerio of North Kingstown enjoys the uniqueness of her birthday. “The best part of being a “leapling” is that it makes me feel special and is a great ice-breaker,” says Buzzerio, who works in Newport. “I did have an issue at age 18 … I was ready to buy my first car, and my insurance company made me wait until March 1st. No matter the year, I celebrate on the last day of February. I love my unique birthday so much that I got vanity plates that say LPYEAR.”
Terri Hassler, my wife and Bryant University professor, also enjoys those special moments her unique birthday provides. “The best part of it is that people always react in a fun way when they learn I’m a leapling, because they enjoy the uniqueness of it. That makes me happy,” she says. “My favorite birthday was when I turned ten, and my husband threw a party for a ten-year-old. I got Barbie dolls, board games, and stuffed animals.”
“This year is particularly sentimental as my youngest son has just turned 15, and I’m about to; so from now on, he will always have more birthdays than me,” adds Hasseler.
So, on Thursday, February 29th, be sure to wish all your leapling friends a happy birthday … and then don’t worry about it again for another four years!
