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Culture July 24, 2017
So are you 10 or 40?
Photo via Instagram / @slovakmonkeyEvery four years, the Gregorian calendar has Leap Day on Feb. 29. The purpose of Leap Day is to keep the calendar in line with the solar year so the seasons maintain predictability, which helps scientists.
A single year is 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds or 365.25 days. During a leap year, the added day makes up for the 0.25 of a day that is discounted in a traditional year.
And while this may be a good thing for science and society, what does it mean for the rare individuals born on Feb. 29? ENTITY has the answer.
There are nearly 7.5 billion people in the world, but only about five million have a Leap Day birthday. In the United States, the Leap Day birthday count is under 200,000 people.
In four years, there are 1,461 days, which means you have a 1 in 1,461 chance of having a Leap Day birthday.
The Guinness World Record for most consecutive generations born on Feb. 29 was achieved in 1996 in the United Kingdom. Peter Anthony was born in Ireland on Feb. 29, 1940. His son, Peter Eric was born on the same day in 1964, as was his granddaughter Bethany Wealth in 1996.
Typically, people with a Leap Day birthday will celebrate on Feb. 28 or March 1. So no, you don’t knock off three years of your life between birthdays.
Celebrating your Leap Day birthday in Anthony, Texas would probably be a fun time because the city deems itself “Leap Year capital of the world.” It hosts a Leap Day festival from Feb. 25 to Feb. 29 each year.
However, depending on which country you’re from, notable birthdays like your eighteenth or twenty-first may have to wait to be legitimized until Mar. 1 if they fall on a non leap year. New Zealand considers your legal age to take effect on Feb. 28, while the United Kingdom is one of the places you’ll have to wait until March.
When it comes to celebrities with a Leap Day birthday, Ja Rule is definitely the most famous. The 41-year-old rapper was born Feb. 29, 1976.
Other celebrities with a Leap Day birthday include Mark Foster, the lead singer of Foster the People (the band that sings “Pumped Up Kicks”) and Dennis Farina, the actor notorious for playing a mobster.
But other figures who share the Feb. 29 Leap Day birthday are more infamous than famous and are definitely more sinister.
Two convicted serial killers also celebrate their true birthdays once every four years. Aileen Wuornos, born Feb. 29, 1956, killed numerous men after being abused as a child. And Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” was born Feb. 29, 1960. It is thought that his exposure to a family murder at a young age led him to rape and murder women in his later life.
So what does it mean for your personality if you have a Leap Day birthday?
If you are born on Feb. 29, your zodiac sign is Pisces, whether you celebrate on Feb. 28, Feb. 29 or March 1. Positive characteristics of a Pisces include being compassionate, artistic and intuitive, while negative characteristics include fearful and over-trusting.
However, astrologers also believe Feb. 29 specifically relates to unusual talents and personality traits. They believe people with a Leap Day birthday are also very optimistic yet strong in their beliefs, loyal and have a childhood innocence.
It is said, these individuals make good parents because they can balance their sensitive side with discipline. They are also believed to seek out happiness and freedom physically and financially.
Don’t let a Leap Day birthday hold you back from celebrating every year. Take it from Ja Rule, who joked he was celebrating his 10th birthday in Vegas when he was actually turning 40.
