Don’t be surprised, this week there will be a February 29th. Precisely, a Thursday February 29, slipping between Wednesday February 28 and Friday 1er March. If you have undertaken the February alcohol-free challenge, you will have to wait an additional 24 hours before clinking glasses to your heart’s content.
2024 is a leap year. I know, you know. But do we really know what a leap year is? First of all, what is a year? It is the time of a revolution of the Earth around the Sun. (If you are one of those for whom the Earth is flat, therefore fixed, I do not know what determines, for you, a year, probably the time between two Bye.)
Earth’s orbit takes exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds. This is why every four years, we add a day to the current year. It’s a leap year. Why “leap year”? It seems like a term that has more to do with sexual diversity than with counting years. We have to go back to Julius Caesar to understand the root of “leap year”.
Instead of creating a February 29, Caesar chose to double February 24. It was February 24, we lived our day, we went to bed, we got up and it was February 24 again. A little confusing. Arranging to meet on February 24 was not easy. However, it was the perfect day to submit an assignment.
The “bis” of “bissextile” therefore means twice. February 24 was also known at the time as the sixth day before the calends of March. sex, in Latin, means six. “Leap”, twice on the sixth day before the calends of March. Everything is explained. But not everything is explained…
February 29 appeared for the first time in 1582. It was Pope Gregory XIII who promulgated this new way of proceeding by specifying an important measure, because by adding a day every four years so as not to be short compared to Earth’s orbit, it ended up being too long over time. This is why it was decided that leap years would only be years divisible by 4 but not divisible by 100, unless they were divisible by 400. Not clear? This means, for example, that in 1900, there was no February 29, even if there had been one in 1896, because 1900 is divisible by 100, but not by 400. You do not still don’t understand? No problem, the next time this will happen is in 2100. Either you will no longer be in this world, or artificial intelligence will think for you.
The last time we experienced February 29, in 2020, we didn’t really know what the coronavirus was. A beer addiction? It was going well. Home was a place to rest, not to work. We were lucky in our misfortune. Imagine if 2021 or 2022 had been a leap year! We would never have been able to endure another day of confinement.
February 29 therefore arrives during a normal year. At the time, we will not even realize this additional time, which the unions have not yet thought of asking for, at least time and a half, but on December 31, 2024, if you feel a little more tired than habit, it will not be an illusion, you will have 24 hours more in the body. Twenty-four hours in winter, to boot. They weren’t tempted by July 32 or August 32? It’s not just Denis Villeneuve who would have been happy.
Those who will be happy next Thursday are those born on February 29, the big forgotten ones, three years out of four. It’s not our fault, it’s the calendar’s fault. It doesn’t send us a reminder when the friend’s birthday is February 29th.
Among the oddities of this rare day is the Henriksen family. His three children were born on February 29, in 1960, in 1964 and in 1968. I hope they took a 6/49. These Norwegians inspired a family from Utah, States. Mme Estes also gave birth to three children, in 2004, 2008 and 2012. We don’t celebrate often, but we celebrate hard!
In Canadian history, the most significant event to occur on February 29 took place in 1984, when after a long walk in the snow, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, announced that he was leaving politics.
Let’s be on the lookout this Thursday, if Justin ever decides to follow in his father’s snowy footsteps. They predict a snowfall, you never know.
The next February 29 will be in 2028. Who will be at the head of the country? Will the Canadian be rebuilt? The Olympic Stadium, too? And the third link? Will the PQ be in power? Will we be in the middle of a referendum?
Calm down, calm down…
Let’s live it one February 29 at a time.
The next one is in four sleeps.
Let’s take advantage of it! One more day is always better than one less day.