Published: February 28, 2008 10:55 pm            

Leap year babies: Today is the REAL day

Model Laboratory fifth-grader Isaac Hite turned 12 years old today, but it is only his third birthday.

Being born on Feb. 29, 1996, is not the only thing that makes Isaac special.

“He was born with the (umbilical cord) wrapped around his neck twice and was having seizures” said his mother, Margaret Hite. “He’s a true miracle baby and we’re so thankful he’s alive.”

Isaac is excited about his leap year birthday plans.

“I’m going to invite some of my family members and some of my friends,” he said. “Most kids don’t have this type of birthday. Some of my friends ask me if it feels special.”

His birthday usually is celebrated on Feb. 28, he said.

He will not have another Feb. 29 birthday until he is a freshman in high school.

Berea resident Felecia Shearer says she has learned to “just take it as a blessing because not everybody has the opportunity to be born on leap year.”

The first big leap year birthday she remembers was when she was 16 years old. Her two siblings were known to get a little jealous when leap year rolled around, she said.

“They didn’t get the big, big gifts like I did,” Shearer said. “They always got like one gift and they didn’t like that all the time.”

It was not until the first grade that Shearer realized she was not like other kids.

“I noticed that everyone else was having a birthday and I was sad,” she said. “I asked my mom and she explained to me that I was very special and that I was going to get to stay young for a long, long time.”

Richmond resident Boydennia J. Cox remembers asking her mother when she was going to celebrate her birthday when there was no Feb. 29.

“I guess I was about 7 years old when I really understood that I only have a real birthday every four years,” she said. “I tell everyone that I have two days to celebrate my birthday when it’s not leap year. Twenty-eight plus one equals 29!”

Cox especially likes it when someone asks her how old she is.

“Other than being able to tell people that I am only 12 years old and to see their expression is funny, I still age just like everyone else.”

Her most adored leap year birthday gift came on her 40th and was from her husband.

“He sent me 40 roses of all colors and various stages of blooming in a big beautiful basket and the sweetest card ever that said, ‘Looking forward to sending 80.’” 

Leap year only occurs once every four years and fall in the same years as America’s presidential election and the Summer Olympics, according to information from leapyearbaby.com.

Julius Caesar first created leap year in 46 B.C. so the calendar year would match the solar year. The solar year, or the amount of time it takes the Earth to travel around the Sun, is about 365.2422 days. The extra .2422 creates an entire extra day every four years.

Some 4 million people celebrate leap day birthday every four years and many more celebrate for many other reasons.

The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, founded in 1997, has more than 6,000 members from all over the world.

Their Web site, www.leapyearday.com, is devoted to “Leap Year Day” education, advocacy and celebration.



Leap year low down:

• When: Every year divisible by four is a leap year, when a 29th day is added to February. There are a few exceptions; not every year divisible by 100 is a leap year, unless that year is also divisible by 400. So, 2000 was a leap year, but 2100 will not be a leap year.

• Why: An extra day every four years is needed to align the calendar with the true solar year, which is 365.2422 days long. Without leap years, the calendar would drift 24 days ahead of the normal seasons after 100 years.

• Odds: The chances of being born on Feb. 29 are 1 in 1,461. Approximately 200,000 Americans are “Leapers.”

• Famous Leapers: Bandleader Jimmy Dorsey (born 1904), singer Dinah Shore (1916), Italian actor Antonio Sabato Jr. (1972), rapper Ja Rule (1976), “Law & Order” star Dennis Farina (1944).

• Gatherings: All leap year babies and anniversary couples are invited to the traditional festival this weekend at Anthony, Texas, which calls itself the “Leap Year Capital of the World.”

• Only 1 in 1,461 babies around the world are born on that once-every-four-years calendar quirk, Feb. 29 — Leap Year Day.



Sources: Timeanddate.com, Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies

        

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