Saturday morning marks once again an extra day in all our calendars for February. 2020 is a leap year which means that the month has 29 days instead of the usual 28. The extra day added so that the calendars aligned with the movement of the Sun and the Earth.
To celebrate this 2000-year-old tradition many parts of the world follow customs to mark the extra day. In France, for example, a newspaper titled La Bougie du Sapeur published once only every four years. This funny take on the leap day first came to be in 1980. The name of the newspaper translates to the sapper's candle. This is a reference to a French comic character whose birthday is on 29 February.
Meanwhile in Texas in America, the local governors of the state of Texas and New Mexico throw a birthday party. The party is in celebration of all the kids who are born on this day. This tradition has followed since 1988. The two-state governments have even declared themselves as the 'Leap year Capital of the World.'
Today, Google is also celebrating the leap day through its Google doodle. The doodle has the Google word excited and cheerful. The origins of the leap day can get traced back to the age of the Romans who began this tradition. This year the leap day is on a Saturday.
The next time a leap day will occur is in 2024. February 29, 2024, falls on a Thursday.
